Turn the clock back to 2014, when textile design graduate Jo Aynsley was visiting design showrooms around Edinburgh with her portfolio, looking for work, Jo could never have imagined that just seven years later she would become the co-owner of one of the city’s leading showrooms and design studios, Jeffreys Interiors. Located on North West Circus Place in Edinburgh’s vibrant Stockbridge area, Jo and her fellow co-owner Georgina Fraser took over the business in spring 2021 after the previous owners retired, with Jo in the role of design director while Georgina is managing director.
Over a year on and Jo’s schedule is busy with a diverse range of commercial and residential projects across Scotland and also in Northumberland, but we grabbed the opportunity to catch up and ask Jo about her journey into interior design and her inspirations, as well as picking her brains about design tips for anyone who’s thinking of tackling a project at home.
Thanks for chatting with us Jo. Firstly, can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do with Jeffreys Interiors.
I grew up on a farm in rural Northumberland, half an hour north of Newcastle. Evenings and weekends were spent driving around on quad bikes, mucking out horses, and exercising my grandad’s race horses and my own pony. I loved to draw and paint and always had a passion for making things, which led me to Edinburgh College of Art. After graduating in 2014, I began working at Jeffreys as their design and retail assistant. Now, as co-owner and design director, I oversee our team of 12 designers, curators and installers.
What led you to choose a career in interior design?
In hindsight, I think this started from a very young age. When I eventually persuaded my mum to decorate my bedroom from basic white walls, she asked what colour I wanted. Naturally as a 7 year old girl I couldn’t decide between sunshine yellow or lavender, so she bought two pots of paint and let me choose… Sunshine yellow it was. I would love going with my mum to the local auction house and begging her to buy new furniture so I could change my room around and sell the current pieces. In a coombed bedroom with very low ceilings, a structural beam running through the room, and an ill-positioned built in wardrobe, it was more like Tetris than anything else.
Art was my favourite subject at school and our fantastic art teacher encouraged me and a friend to go to Newcastle Art College to do a foundation year. I always knew I wanted to do interior design, but, truth be told, I didn’t like the tutor and the course had too much product design, so I decided to specialise in textiles, moving to Edinburgh College of Art to do my full degree. My mum had been another big influence in my love of textiles as she was forever patchwork quilting. I really enjoyed getting to pick the colourful fabrics for her designs and made one myself.
ECA gives you a fantastic grounding to go out into the commercial world, ensuring you have a portfolio, website, and branding etc when finishing your degree. And I still have a connection there: I recently ran a live project with the 3rd year textile students at ECA where they designed a capsule collection for an interiors collection. Last year I worked with Heriot Watt interior design students who collaborated on two live designs for the hotel we are working on at Charlton Hall in Northumberland. I am passionate about supporting the art colleges where possible and understand how important it is to give the students a taste of how exciting life after uni can be.
How did you get involved with Jeffreys Interiors?
After graduating, I walked the streets asking interior design studios to give me a Saturday job/work experience and, after getting a little lost, I finally found Jeffreys Interiors whilst running back up into town for a waitressing interview. The previous owner wasn’t hiring and wasn’t interested, so I asked if I could leave my portfolio and wished him a good day and a tasty lunch. An hour later he called me back and the rest is history.
What kind of projects do you work on?
We work on such a variety of projects, from residential to commercial, and from single rooms to full turnkey renovations. It’s nice to mix the small jobs in with the larger ones to prevent design fatigue. As fun as commercial is to explore the experience of the guest, creating magical spaces and having the creative reins to push people out of their comfort zone, residential projects really allow you scope to get to know the family well and to bring their personality into their home in such a unique way.
I have worked on a lot of residential projects within Scotland along with Yester House in Gifford, Bonskeid Castle at Pitlochry, Charlton Hall at Alnwick, Doxford Farm Glamping Pods at Alnwick, and Rutland Square Apartments in Edinburgh.
We are building our showroom to be an inspiration destination within Edinburgh. While we don’t have the luxury of being in London where every supplier has a showroom, we are trying to bring a variety of suppliers and big name designers to showcase in our studio. We have previously done events with the likes of Tom Faulkner and continue to have his products, and we have recently launched a partnership to supply Paolo Moschino’s stunning collection. We are hosting an event with Paolo in September (this was fully subscribed within an hour!) and hope we can keep working with established as well as up and coming designers.
How would you describe your own style, and who are your design influences?
I like an eclectic mix of antiques mixed with more contemporary pieces. I am a million miles away from a modern, pared back look; I love an explosion of colour. However, for a textiles designer, I only like pops of pattern in my own home. My design influences are an eclectic mix in themselves: Ali Budd Interiors has a playful modern edge to her; Sasha Bikoff offers a riot of colour; Paolo Moschino for his timeless air; and Martin Brudnizki for his maximalism design and serious attention to detail.
Where do you live, and how does this area influence your design work?
I live in Edinburgh’s New Town. We work a lot within Edinburgh and are blessed with Georgian proportions in architecture with high ceilings, huge windows, and so much light (when the sun is actually out!), and therefore I think I have developed a good eye for the scale of pieces as well as a confidence with colour.
What does a working day look like for you?
This job is so creative and reactive that not one day is the same. Depending on the stages of the project, I might be buried in the studio under a mountain of pattern books (my fave place), or I could be on site with the electricians and joiners checking over first fixes before the walls are re-boarded and plastered. Site visits are my favourite when you can really start to see progress on the job, and you have to make decisions on site when you need to work a problem through.
I have daily check-ins with members of my design team to ensure their projects are running to schedule and to help re-plot when things need to move – which is all the time. And I oversee the creative direction of our showroom, so I am constantly walking around with my fabulous styling team identifying how we can breathe life back into overlooked pieces.
When not working, what are your favourite places to explore?
I am usually reading design magazines or socialising with friends. My favourite spot in the city is the duck pond at Inverleith and I’m there a lot through the week with my little dog Inca.
Are there any local businesses that would you like to highlight?
There are so many! But to name a few…
Golden Hare Books is one of my favourite stores in Edinburgh. I don’t think you can ever have too many coffee table books to style your house.
Arusha Gallery on Dundas Street for their stunning collections and art exhibitions.
Salento, also on Dundas Street, which has fabulous Italian ceramics.
A design project can seem daunting so what would your advice be to anyone reading this who might be contemplating a project of their own?
You always need a starting point, whether that be a piece of art to take colours from or a key piece of furniture… or just a strong idea on which you can built the rest. Getting the right team around you is crucial. You have to be comfortable with the people you are working with in order to form a good working relationship. It is your home so it becomes personal, and therefore those decisions can become overwhelming at times.
Always remember your team are on your side and therefore treat them like that and they will work much harder for you. Understanding timescales is important, whether it be to get things through planning or simple things such as upholstery lead times. Being realistic will be a huge help to you throughout the whole process and will make the journey much more enjoyable.
If you were to describe your dream home, what would it look like?
A beautiful traditional villa in the countryside, in a small village with a great pub. Imagine floor to ceiling arched windows on the ground floor with high ceilings and stunning plasterwork, so the detail is in the architecture.
And a wild garden that wouldn’t look out of place if it wasn’t perfectly kept (I am no gardener!), featuring a turning circle with water fountain in the centre. The Old Bank in Gifford is my dream home.
Of course I would also love a grand apartment in Paris with the same features… one can dream!
For more about Jeffreys Interiors, visit here: https://www.jeffreys-interiors.co.uk
and follow on Instagram.
All photos by Zac and Zac
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