Photography: James McDonald (WOW!house), Milo Brown (portrait)
The Colour Queen: Enass Mahmoud on Heritage, WOW!House and Building Without a Reference Point
EXPERTS
Studio Enass founder Enass Mahmoud joins OLISE Editor-in-Chief Bilen Zeremariam to talk about the journey from a homeware studio job to her own WOW!House room. From a childhood split between London and Sudan to a cold-call client win at the O2 Arena, Enass speaks openly about working without a reference point, the community that kept her going, and the Garden Folly Room that has made her one of the most talked-about names at this year's show.
Q: Let's start at the beginning. Where were you brought up, Enass?
I was brought up in London but born in Sudan. My family is from Sudan and I used to go back every summer, plus I spent about two years there during my teenage years. But mainly, I was raised in London.
Q: What did that connection, going back to Sudan and experiencing that culture, do for you?
It feels like home. We're very rich in culture, in art, in architecture, in interior design, in fashion. I was raised around so many creative people in their own sense. I don't think people realise how eccentric and colourful Sudanese women are, the clothes we wear, how we style our places. We're very eccentric, and I think subconsciously that fed through to my design philosophy.
Q: There was no one in your family who'd built an interior design business before you. What did that conversation look like when you told them you wanted to do this?
My dad is very creative, and he's really championed me going into design. My mum's been supportive too. I didn't actually study interior design, I studied surface design, so it was more about appreciation of products and surfaces. When I told them I wanted to start my own business a couple of years after graduating, it was a journey for all of us. There was no reference point for them, no one to point to and say "she's done it." It was tricky for them to grasp what you could actually do with design. But they became my biggest cheerleaders.
Q: How did your first project actually come about?
It happened by accident, though I believe nothing in this life really is. I was working at a homeware studio, left, and wanted to get into interior design but was terrified because I didn't have the degree for it. A client posted on social media looking for someone to design one of the VIP rooms at the O2 Arena. I thought, what do I have to lose? I did it, and a year later they bought a huge house and asked me to do that too. I said no the first time, because I was terrified. Then I said yes. To get into the arena at all, I had to be registered as a business, so the paperwork came before the name ever really existed.
Q: How long did it take before you could say out loud that you were running a design studio?
Honestly, four or five years. I was still learning, I didn't have much guidance, and I didn't know if what I was charging or how I was marketing myself was right or wrong. When you come from a working-class background, you don't have the investment to understand how to run a business. You're learning as you go.
Q: What advice would you give someone trying to build a studio the way you did, without outside investment?
Work in somebody else's studio first. Learn at somebody else's expense. You're not just designing, you're dealing with people, with suppliers, with somebody else's money and somebody else's home. And build your community, because you cannot do this alone. It's a lie when people say they've done it all by themselves. I've had so much support from the people next to me. Find your community, build it, and learn as much as you can before you dive into your own business.
Q: What keeps you going on the days you've wanted to quit?
I think I'm a bit delusional, honestly. I'm also trying to prove a point, to myself and to everyone who didn't expect me to do this. But the longer I'm here, the more I realise it isn't just about me. It's the next generation, the other Sudanese girls, the other people who look like me or come from working-class backgrounds. I wish I'd had more of that to look at when I was graduating.
Q: Who was the woman who started Studio Enass, and who is she now?
She was scared, absolutely terrified, with no idea what she was doing. Ambitious, hungry, terrified, probably delusional too. Now I'm more confident in who I am as a woman and a designer. I listen to my gut more. I don't lead with desperation, because when you do, you attract the wrong clients and the wrong projects. I still have moments of fear, but I'm so much more comfortable in my own skin. I used to want to hide and let the pictures speak for themselves. People like us don't have that privilege. We have to show up.
Q: For anyone who doesn't know it, what is WOW!House?
It's like the Met Gala, the Oscars of interior design. You have no brief. You go as bold as the time frame and your suppliers allow, with nobody telling you that you can't use red. It's the purest showcase of who you are as a designer.
Q: Talk us through the Garden Folly Room.
I worked with Darren Price from Adam Architecture on the facade and Hector Finch on the lanterns outside. I knew the room was going to be small, so I wanted it to feel like a jewel box, something you step into and slowly take in, layer by layer. It's a representation of both my worlds, my Sudanese heritage and my British upbringing, a love letter to where I'm from and what I've grown up watching. There are dates on the table, traditional bokhour, all the small details that come from belonging and heritage.
Q: About a year before you got the WOW!House email, we sat down and you told me you were going to do it. What were you feeling in that moment?
I'd just done the WOW!House tour with Homes & Gardens, and it was my first time experiencing the show in person rather than online. I left so inspired, I told you, "Bilen, I'm going to do WOW!House." I didn't know when or how, but I already knew the colours, I already knew the feeling I wanted people to walk into. Getting the email the year after felt insane.
Q: What's next for Studio Enass?
I used to always be thinking about what's next. Now I'm trying to sit in the moment, especially with WOW!House, and actually take it in. That said, I'd love to do a lighting product. I worked with Gladee Lighting on the wall lights in the room and the feedback has been incredible, so you heard it here first. Beyond that, a high-end restaurant or a private members' club is the dream, somewhere I can be as layered, colourful and bold as I want.
