Hi there! So what's your name?
Shilpa Mohan
Where do you call home?
Sydney
What do you do?
Interior Designer, Content Writer and Public Speaker
Tell us your story
When I was in high school, I received really high grades and so I decided to study Pharmacy at uni. However, my heart was more creative and so I decided to study Interior design and decoration. As a woman of colour, breaking into a predominantly Caucasian industry hasn’t been easy, I knew I wanted to become someone that young women of colour could look up to. I often receive messages on Instagram saying because of me they can see that they can be designers as well. I sometimes work 16 hour days, I don’t stop. When I’m not working, I’m constantly learning or pushing myself to break out of my comfort zone and network with people every single week. In the 5 years that I’ve been working as a designer, I’ve been in multiple magazines, I’ve been a judge for National awards and I’ve been a nominee and award winner. I believe my success is due to never breaking away from my core ethics and values of always treating people with kindness and respect and being able to handle stressful situations without ever losing my sense of calm. I would love to become the most well-known women of colour designer and be a role model for young women. I want them to know that you can stand out and achieve anything you want even if it seems like you’re up against it all.
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?
To stand up for myself. I’ve had many people disregard me and my voice because I’m naturally an introvert and my overly calm nature sometimes gets misinterpreted as not being a strong person. I stay calm because I feel like that is the best way to handle situations, but because of that I have never stood up to bullies and I wish my younger self would know it’s ok to tell people when they are offending you or hurting you, there’s no place for being un-kind in this world
What does "living freely" mean to you?
Being able to make your own choices as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. Freedom is something we have strived for for so long, it’s to know that you can be the best version of yourself.
Where can we follow your work and support you?
@shilpsdesigns
