In our series, YKRA Faces, we introduce some Budapest-based creatives, who tell us stories about their daily routines, working methods and also give us a glimpse of what they keep in their YKRA backpacks. Our fifth guest is Timi Hadnagy, interior designer.

Please tell us a little bit about your background!

I’ve been working as an interior designer for 9 years: in the beginning, I worked at cafés, but 2 years ago we could move to our own office. The team currently consists of 2 architects, 2 interior designers, 1 intern and we also work with a freelance visual designer. I am very glad that I can work with creatives who are very significant members of the design scene. I used to be a blogger: I was part of 11ground, a blog run by 6 girls where everyone contributed with their own expertise – mine was the home section. I also started my own blog CHEZ ELLES at the dawn of Instagram’s rapid growth, and I started to put more emphasis on creating photos instead of long-form blog posts. I don’t call myself an influencer as I have my own profession and business, but I like collaborating with companies whose products I use in my professional life. This is a very popular model abroad that companies ask trustworthy professionals to create content for their brand. I am also a mother, I have a son, Milo who is 1,5 years old now. I think I am a perfect example of how a mom can balance family life with work without necessarily missing out years after having a baby or experiencing motherhood as a clash in her career. I also love travelling as I gain a lot of inspiration during my trips. It might sound like a cliché but in my profession, it is true that I can easily use the ideas I see abroad. It is very important for designers so they can always have fresh perspectives.

How does a day for you look like?

What I love about my work is that no two days that are the same. I’ve never been a 9-5 kind of person. My mornings are now fixed because of Milo but as he is getting bigger, this will change, as well. Nowadays we take him to the nursery in the morning, after that I go to a construction, to an external meeting or right to the office. Mondays always start with a planning meeting to have a schedule for the week and to also see who works on what and how we can distribute different tasks. A day doesn’t finish at 6 as I often have to work from home, as well. When it happens, we share the duties of who takes care of Milo and Chilli, our dog with my husband, based on who has urgent tasks that need to be taken care of.

What’s in your backpack?
I am a very practical girl so these are the things I usually carry with me:

Airpods: Making phone calls constitute a major part of my day. When we’re preparing for an exhibition, I could even compete with call centre employees in the number of calls I need to make a day. I got these from my husband as it’s much easier to navigate with Chilli, our dog, the baby carriage, my laptop and everything else I have with me and making phone calls at the same time.
Fabric samples: I run around with these from clients to supplier back and forth.
Magazine: Our latest work is featured in this one. It was a love project for us, it was a long tube apartment and we managed to close its hall in a way that we could create two apartments out of it.
Wallet: I love the works of Hungarian designers, and I also prefer using Hungarian products in my professional work.
Paint sample: I use these kinds of paint where it is important the highlight, the colour choice. I prefer this solution instead of wallpapers. It’s easy to play around with it, to paint the tiny details or the ceiling.

Check out the other guests of the YKRA FACES series HERE!