Meet Dervla O'Shea, co-host of What A Way To Make A Living, the women-led podcast. Read her exclusive interview with Caterina Bianchini, Founder of Studio Nari @studionari and plus access to the podcast episode.

Dervla: Hey Cat! To set some context tell the UO readers what you do for a living and also what you’re all about as a person?

Caterina: My name is Caterina Bianchini and I am the founder and creative director of Studio Nari. We are a design studio that works with clients across fashion, beauty and music. As a person I like to think I am a bit of a procrastinator, a little strange, I like to question things a lot and I also like to think a lot. I know it sounds a bit basic/tortured artist but really sitting still and thinking is something that I think is very underrated and people now seem to save very little time for. I see it almost as my way of meditating, I can sit with my thoughts and organise them, file them away or save some aside that I want to think about a little more. It’s like having a small office with loads of paper that needs to be filed in your head. You didn’t ask this part but I think it's important too, so what I want to be in the future is more of a changemaker.

D: You were our first “what a way to make a living” podcast guest with myself and Amelia. What has changed for your business since we last spoke?

C: I think when we last spoke the studio was still in its infancy. We have changed our name since and have worked with some of our bucket list clients including our just launched project for Vogue Singapore! I feel like as a company we have a rare positive outlook on everything that has happened recently. It was a little scary to begin with but it allowed us to slow down abit and really think about what we wanted to do as a studio and who we wanted to work with. For instance one of the first things we ask a new client is why? We are a branding studio and we want to ensure we are working with clients who have a strong purpose to what they do and why they are doing it or an incentive that means more than just selling.

D: How did you find your way to design as a career?

C: Well, I was a school drop out. It’s funny because I look back on that time now and think I really didn’t get it. It sounds really stupid but I really didn’t get school, I didn’t really understand what it was setting us up for it life. I really think this is something they have to say more to kids, like this is the foundation of your LIFE. I was only ever interested in music, art and creative writing, but it seems to have worked out for me. I dropped out of school a year early and went to college to study medium format photography, I remember everyone said it was a terrible idea but I did it anyway, then in college after I dropped out the last year and said I am going to university, everyone said it was a bad idea... then I went to uni and I said I am going to specialise in Communication Design, and guess what..everyone said it was a bad idea and that i should do fashion. Anyway, advice from me on that is...Follow your gut, even when people are against you it your life and you have to make the final decision yourself.

D: When did you know it was what you wanted to do?

C: I didn’t really, I had a sister who worked in fashion and I saw how hardcore the industry was so I thought graphics was a easier path to take. I would say I am more of an arty designer than a technical designer so maybe that’s why I never really consider it as something I had a calling too, but for some reason it stuck. Even now, I really love going deep with concepts and the predesign part of any project more than the actual designing itself.

D: DIY culture is massively on the up, what advice would you give to people who are starting up their own thing; whether it be a business or just a side project?

C: Just do it, now is the time to. I think there is more acceptance for people doing their own thing, working from home, setting up a new vision for working etc. I’d say test it first, maybe do a little thing and put it out in the open and see the feedback and slowly continue to do that until you feel you can go full 24/7 with it.

D: How have you worked out a balance with your work and social life?

C: I worked in many studios at the beginning of my career that had a horrendous working culture. Nari is strictly against it. We work 9.30 - 5.30, we do not ever work weekends and sometimes on a Friday we just finish early if we feel like it, we have no set holiday days either. If the work isn’t getting done in working hours we ask ourselves why, we adjust and we try again.

D: What’s the hardest part about running your own studio?

C: Everything. Sorry to be dramatic! Really there is so much that goes into it and it has taken me a long time to build a team that runs the way it does now. We all work so well together and we have a full system to the way we work. The hardest part though I think is actually understanding business, finances, do’s and don’ts etc.

D: What’s been your most valuable creative lesson so far?

C: To Pause. Leave a project for a few days and come back to it. How does it look and feel? Is every individual part working and do each of those pieces go on to work together.

D: As a creative person how do you let off steam creatively outside of your studio work?

C: I do art, when I have the time! It’s the only thing I can do creatively without consciously thinking. It’s lovely!

D: Are there any words of wisdom you’ve found yourself repeating often lately?

C: I recently read a quote by the artist Louise Bourgeois - “Tell your own story and you will be interesting” I am not sure why it stuck with me so much, but I really love how much power it made me feel almost like you have all the answers already you don’t need to look for them anywhere else. It also made me feel like, as long as I trust myself and my instinct I will always make good work, because the word good in this sense is subjective, it's based on your vision alone.

Dervla: Where do you seek your inspiration?

C: Books, people, life, art - everywhere. Inspiration is truly everywhere. That feels like it should be a ceramic magnet with a quote on it on a fridge - sorry so gushy!

D: Who are your fave 3 designers?

C: Bruno Munari, John Baldessari, Paul Rand.

D: Who are your fave 3 artists?

C: Ok, going to go contemporary with these, George Rouy, Cristina BanBan, Shadi Al-Atallah.

D: Any closing thoughts you’d like to leave us with?

C: Don’t spend so much time on social media. :)