ME AND MY PATCH
BECKI LINLEY, TRENDENZA

Tell us about yourself
I am the Creative Director of Trendenza, a new interiors refurbishment specialist based in Edinburgh. My business origins are in retail buying and business management.

I am very ambitious, confident and extremely driven, and I am also very hands – I visualise a project from inception to completion. I like to think I have a firm grasp on what a person wants within a fairly short space of time. We spend a lot of time getting to know the client, how they live and what they envisage and I enjoy the process of seeing a space evolve through to its final stages and the customers’ feedback on the finished article.

We set up Trendenza as a stand alone company five months ago due to the demand in interior specification, design and refurbishment market.

I have quickly been delighted to see how quickly Trendenza has evolved and we are now taking on interior projects from throughout Scotland. For the early part of my career, I worked for over 12 years in fashion and cosmetic buying markets and in particular with design, boutique and high street brands across the board. In that time I honed my skills as manager, buyer and UK operational manager with a clear understanding of brand markets, consumer needs and trend-related products. I passionately believe in offering my clients fantastic products at competitive rates.

What are your main responsibilities?
My main responsibility is to deal with the direction and focus of the business and its day-to-day needs – sourcing of suppliers/products, marketing, staff training and support and naturally heading up the refurbishment team and our sub contractors alongside overseeing client projects and commercial work.

Trendenza offers a unique personal design and interior refurbishment service, visiting clients at their homes or offices to talk over and progress their desired design concept for their interiors.

The company provides a comprehensive, contemporary finish to today’s professionals and modern families; equally we undertake private schemes for developers and corporate environments.

Typically a Trendenza personal client consultation would include the following: a brief from the client whatever their budget and criteria; a property survey and assessment; a scheme presentation and discussion regarding the layout, brief and planning timescales; a project initialization and management and finally the staging and handover.

What’s keeping you busy at the moment?
The re-branding and launch of Trendenza has certainly kept me occupied over the last few months. It has been a real challenge and a constant balancing act between client and team requirements, supplier meetings, and organising our launch. We have just designed and launched our new website and socially, I have become a hermit as the web, products, branding or marketing questions take precedent on most evenings, particularly the weekend.
However, I must admit it has been a team effort as my colleagues Brian and Stuart have quite graciously taken on weekly list of “to dos” when I have been submerged in marketing and website literature.

We are also currently working on a number of interior projects in cities of Edinburgh, Dundee, and Aberdeen and our aim is to open a second premises in Scotland.

When it comes to property, what’s your money on, and what’s the next big thing?
Entertaining spaces, kitchens designed to suit your lifestyle and bathrooms are certainly areas which should take precedent when designing your home. Decoration is also key – great spaces can suddenly become swamped when you don’t visualise the overall look first and try and mix too much together.

Less is often more, if you’re not sure, pick a key statement piece of furniture wall/s and let that do the talking. I love colour and believe when used correctly it can create atmospheric rooms without the need for extravagant spending. If you are not sure, get the professionals in for some advise.

What one thing above all sells a house?
A house that is a home. Fantastic kitchens and bathrooms always are key indicators for a seller to make sure they meet expectation before they put the home on the market. Buyers want to either do a complete refurbishment or sit down and enjoy their new space. Well groomed outside areas as first impressions count and clean, clear areas which are defined.

If money was no object, where would you live?
Manhatten would be nice. I’m a city girl through and through. I love the buzz and the wideness of its appeal – to be in the heart of the city one minute and the next to be in the quietness of Central Park. The white beaches of Antigua would be nice for a weekend, if money really was no object.