If you’re Nigerian, you probably know the struggle pursuing a ‘traditional’ career because of your parents, even though deep down you know you want to work in the creative arts.
For Temi Johnson, this is her reality. Despite training as a criminal defence lawyer due to her mother’s expectations, her creative senses never died and now she’s pursuing a career in interior design. Although Temi is fairly new in the interior design space, she’s taken it head on and is leaving her mark.
Almost every industry put out a statement for Black Lives Matter in the Summer of 2020 and the British interior design industry followed suit. The British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) launched the UK interior design industry’s first ever diversity and inclusion survey to understand the barriers and experiences of underrepresented groups in the industry, from race, gender, religion and class.
According to the BIID, 9% of British interior designers came from a Black background and 38% felt that their race has created barriers for them to succeed in the industry. Furthermore, Black interior designers faced the most ethnic discrimination in their industry (42%) compared to their Asian (24%) and mixed heritage (11%) colleagues. On the topic of classism, the interior design industry is incredibly elitist with 15% of designers coming from a lower economic background, compared to their more privileged peers.
Earlier this year, Temi came fourth on the BBC’s Interior Design Masters. She spoke with Black Ballad about her experience working as a Black woman in interior design, her interior design style and achieving her goals later in life.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.