Behind the Scenes with Persona Abode Interiors
Jecks Stone runs Persona Abode Interiors, a vegan interior design company.
Lisa talks to Jecks about how ethical interior design and veganism go hand in hand, and how she uses this knowledge to create ethical wellness spaces.
How did your personal vegan transformation change the way you design interiors?
Actually, vegan interior design arrived before my lifestyle change. I wasn’t ever fully sold on using animal products anyway because leather and wool weren’t materials I preferred. They lacked a comfort factor due to my allergies.
At the end of my interior design studies, I felt that I didn’t want to design from a point of frivolity and was searching for a deeper meaning to designing interiors. Luckily, it was at the same time as discovering that vegan interior design was a possibility. In discovering that, it felt right to change my lifestyle to align. It’s the best choice I’ve ever made and it feels right running Persona Abode with a conscience.
You lead with a message about respecting people, place and planet. Do you feel your customers connect more with that than with a vegan message?
I feel that a vegan message is only a part of what I’m trying to do with Persona Abode and at the moment using the word can cause too much of a confrontation for some. For those who are ethically minded but not necessarily living the lifestyle, the very mention of the word ‘vegan’ can silence the message. I prefer the softer approach so that I can show clients alternatives, as little steps are better than none at all.
You’re a certified vegan designer. What did this process consist of and does it give confidence to your vegan clients?
I heard about a new vegan design course aimed at interior designers back in 2017. VeganDesign.Org was founded by designer Deborah Dimare, a US based interior designer, and I took the course shortly after the course was made available. It’s a short online course at around 20 hours, and you learn where and how animals are used in the interior environment. There were several modules followed by simple tests to ensure you understand what you’ve learnt. The worse elements were the videos showing harmful conditions animals live under. You can’t pretend you haven’t seen the horrors, and it does arm you with the knowledge to ask and answer the right questions that clients may not be aware of.
What types of materials in the home are people often surprised are not vegan?
The use of animals are woven into our homes from the ground up. Things as seemingly innocent as bricks and cement can contain blood and fat. Cholesterol from animals is a surprising component of LCD screens – so that covers TVs, computers and smart devices.
Then there’s cleaning products. It may seem more obvious in soaps, but natural brushes can use all sorts of animal hair. Paint brushes and cleaning brushes in varying amounts of softnesses may use squirrel, goat, pig, hog or horse hairs.
I was sourcing a mattress last year and to my surprise casein was an ingredient. I asked the retailer why it was used and they couldn’t give me a clear answer. I was aware that animals can make up the structure of a mattress in terms of duck/ goose feathers, horsehair, cashmere and yak, but casein in latex was new to me. Unlike the food industry, furniture doesn’t come with an ingredient list, so unless you ask you can easily buy items that aren’t vegan friendly.
"Designing for wellness encompasses considering the impact a design scheme has on the user. Everything we bring into our home has some impact on how we use our homes. "
Your background is in medieval building conservation, so you really know how to keep a home looking good for the long haul! Is this an aspect you feel is usually overlooked in interior design?
The effect of architecture and geological surroundings in the interior space can be overlooked or under-appreciated in many ways. Access to natural light, for example, has a knock-on-effect on lighting conditions inside and suitable colour schemes. I quite often see people selecting paint colours purely on the basis of what they like, giving no thought to where their home is located. There are factors such as weather typical in that area to consider also.
For example, you might choose a grey colour that you like, but if your room is overshadowed by tall buildings then it can become gloomy rather quickly and additional lighting is needed to compensate. In a room where you need to work from home, you may find your productivity levels to be low if lighting is poor; you can suffer from eye strain or poor concentration. It may be relatively easy to re-paint, but painting causes a lot of upheaval. Getting it right the 1st time saves a lot of stress and disruption.
The impact of our homes on our lives and feelings is at the forefront of your thinking, and you call yourself a ‘wellness designer’; what does that mean and how do you create healthier home environments?
Designing for wellness encompasses considering the impact a design scheme has on the user. Everything we bring into our home has some impact on how we use our homes. If the air quality is bad, it can affect our health as well as what areas of our environment we use. In turn, battling with health conditions can impact our ability to cope in the midst of stressful situations or your ability to show up confidently in the world. These factors have consequences for family and work life, and they can impact earning potential.
I begin projects by getting to know every member of the household, understanding factors such as their daily habits, where they are currently on their health journey and knowing about the career they have. All the information feeds my suggestions of the areas of their home that need to offer comfort and what materials can support that. Knowing potential causes of anxiety or triggers of bad memories helps me to know what elements of a design to avoid.
Overall, paying attention to the needs of the household serves their health and makes for a more functional space to live in. If you get too caught up in aesthetics, you can miss a trick or two and ultimately the client pays the price.
What business skills have you had to learn in order to make Persona Abode Interiors a success?
I’ve had to learn how to apply business savviness to creativity. Creativity steers me in all sorts of directions. I like to seek inspiration at the start of every project and research as part of the creative process. It’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole, but business systems are the reins to pull me back in to provide a consistent service for all clients. They deserve a quality design service as they are entrusting me with their investment.
If someone is wanting to set up their own vegan business, what top tip would you give them?
Being vegan can often mean you’re up against people who have very different beliefs or don’t understand the implications of the lifestyle. It’s good to have surety in your mission and have the confidence to back it up. Developing that quality in yourself really helps you to stand firm regardless of the backlash you might get or the general ebbs and flows of running your own business.
Lisa Fox says:
Jecks has very clearly founded a successful business based on educating the customer. Most people don’t realise how intrusive animal products still are in our home and office spaces, and Persona Abode Interiors help lead their customers on an ethical journey. This often means that Jecks doesn’t lead with a vegan message, but that doesn’t mean she’s not helping people on their plant-based journey. A great example of vegan by stealth!
