Talent Spotlight: Marianna Ng
International Women's Day 2023
Name: Marianna Ng
Role: Senior Interior Designer, Associate
Studio: Toronto
If you weren’t in your current position, what would you be doing? I’d be working as a ceramic artist or jewelry designer. I love seeing designs and ideas in my head come to life, but there’s a certain hands-on tactility I miss.
Where does inspiration come from? I think it comes from changing your environment, which sometimes means travelling to a new city or even leaving your home for a walk, but I also think it can mean psychologically – getting outside of your train of thought, by opening your mind up to new ideas and letting go of old ones.
What’s a design trend you’d like to end? All-white and beige interiors. I feel like they’re trendy because of the way residential houses are often staged, but it’s exactly that – a stage devoid of life and personality. There’s nothing that tells you anything about the people that live in them, because nobody does.
Who have you learned from? I’ve learned a lot from my older mentors in the industry – as much as we embrace new technology and our industry is constantly innovating, there’s nothing that will beat good, hard experience.
What’s the highest compliment a client could give you? “You really listened to us!”
What’s your favourite book and why? The Book Thief by Markus Zusack. Though it deals with bleak subjects of war, trauma, and death (it’s literally written through Death as the narrator), it’s also beautifully written, thought-provoking, and incredibly deep. At a young age, it taught me about the unequivocal power of words, and how they can turn something miserable into something meaningful.
What’s your idea of perfect happiness? A life that’s generally (most times) peaceful with just a dash of chaos, and we’ll throw in the odd surprise, just to keep things exciting.