Bringing Colour to Life with Eva Sonaike

Your company’s ethos is 'Bringing Colour to Life', do you have a favourite colour - and are there any colours that you would never use in your home?

My favourite colour has always been a dark dusky pink with a powdery, earthy terracotta tone. I loved this colour as a little girl and still love it now. I had my room painted in this colour when I was a teenager and, as you couldn’t buy it over the counter back then, my Dad helped me creating it myself. We mixed pink with a bit of brown and beige and created the perfect colour! One colour I don’t like in my home is orange. It just doesn’t fit my personality.

What do you enjoy most about running your own business?

I love the creative freedom I have. Being able to design what I am inspired by and other people liking it and wanting it in their own home feels great.

I also like the fact that as a business owner you have to be able to multi-task and learn about different aspects of the business. No day is the same. I have grown so much since launching the company, both as a businesswoman and personally through the challenges that I had to face and overcome.

What lessons from your time as a journalist did you find the most useful when setting up your business?

I worked as a fashion journalist for a glossy woman’s title, so I had a good understanding of the luxury and premium fashion and lifestyle market and knew what to expect from brands and a PR perspective. I used to get lots of press releases and promotional material each week and knew that brands that stood out, caught the attention of journalists and if they had a great story could make it into the magazines and newspapers. So I worked on my branding before I even launched the brand, which included logo design, packaging and the communication style we would use to represent us. And I also include storytelling in my brand. With every collection, we try to not only highlight the designs, but also the stories that inspired us to create specific designs.

With your background in fashion journalism have you ever been tempted to translate your prints into a clothing line?

No, not at all. I love fashion, but solely as a consumer. When I design I think about spaces and rooms, which is a totally different form than the human body.

Your designs are full of bold patterns and prints, do you have a favourite or if you had to choose just one to keep what would it be and why?

Oh, that would be so difficult. I am going through different phases as a designer and had times when I was feeling bold and loud, and times when I wanted to just create something that fits in. But one of my favourite designs is Aye blue, especially in a pouffe.

Can you tell us about your home style and what your favourite room is and why?

My home is my absolute sanctuary. I love living here. We bought and renovated the house 10 years ago and I am continuously adding and changing bits, as I and my family are constantly evolving. My home reflects the elements of my African heritage with the art collections and my soft furnishings; my German upbringing with the antique- and mid-century furniture and structure (black wooden floors and white walls); and my eclectic London lifestyle. It is a mixture of these three elements. My favourite room is my open plan living room with its sunken dining room/kitchen because that’s where we gather as a family and with friends, we cook, eat and entertain, but I can also relax here by myself with a cup of tea early in the morning or late a night and enjoy the peace and cosiness of this space.