Frequently Asked Questions: Jane Talks
How did you get into Interior Design?
I always knew I wanted to design and build right from childhood. I built my own furniture from anything around, decorated doll houses from top to bottom, drew floor plans…I always loved art and design. My younger brother got a work bench for his seventh birthday from our retired next door neighbor but it was me who used it. It wasn’t until after I went to U Of T for history and economics that I realized that I had to follow my passion for design and creative thinking and I enrolled at Ryerson University’s School of Interior Design.
What was your first job?
I began by sweeping the floors in the basement of Benjamin Moore Paints head office in Toronto. Unfortunately it was during the late 1980’s recession and there were not many jobs around for designers. I went to see a million design and architectural firms and all of them said no. Then I stumbled on a woman who put me in touch with the senior designer at Benjamin Moore (I vaguely had heard of them) and was hired for free for the first two weeks then was paid $6 an hour. Eventually I went from sweeping floors to drafting and planning their retail stores across Canada.
How did you end up on TV?
After working days with Benjamin Moore Paints and working nights as a waitress (to make ends meet) I was asked by the Marketing Manage to assist my boss by making and designing items for a television show they had agreed to sponsor on CBC. That show was the Lynette Jennings Show, the forerunner to Martha Stewart! So I styled, create and painted for the senior designer who appeared on the show with Lynette. Once, when she couldn’t go on air, I was told that I had to replace her! I have to be honest, I had no interest in television as I wanted to design, not do craft projects! But as it turned out, Lynette was a good host, we got along, and I enjoyed the atmosphere. I also met a lot of future employers there!
What other TV shows have you done besides W’s Color Confidential?
I have been very fortunate to have had a lot of unique experiences in television over the last twenty years. I worked for two years on a CBC show called What on Earth, shot in Regina. I then went on to work at CityTV’s Cityline with Marilyn Dennis for four years and landed on HGTV when it was first licensed in Canada on the show One House, Two Looks. It lasted for six seasons. Of course, there is now Colour Confidential which is in its sixth season on W Network in Canada and HGTV in the US!
What inspires you?
History and Nature inspire me the most. Political history is such a key factor in the resulting architecture, art and design of that time. By understanding the politics of the period it puts the pieces created in that era into perspective. And this knowledge creates an amazing foundation for design for the future. All aspects of nature are beautiful in their own way. It’s remarkable the colours and forms that nature continues to produce.
What are your hobbies?
I love to read historical fiction, current politics, paint and draw. (and walk my Beagle, Baxter!)
What is most important to you?
My family. And integrity.
What’s your favorite colour?
I would have to say orange but I can’t live in it. For living in, I love charcoal gray and always have.
How did you become a colour expert?
Colour knowledge was a detour I took when I first started apprenticing in interior design. The beginning of my career at Benjamin Moore, was during the recession of the late eighties. They were a company that was good to their employees and didn’t lay people off despite the poor economy. So when there was no more retail design work, they put me into the paint and development lab (which was in Toronto at the time). For several years I worked closely with lab technicians and learned not only what made paint and pigment, but what made colour. Later, I got to teach this to other designers through a CEU that Benjamin Moore offered both in Canada and the US. In addition I wrote several research papers for the company once I had gone on my own, to explore the physiological aspects of colour and how we see. It has been an amazing journey.
What does your house look like?
Like they always say: “the shoe maker’s son has no shoes!” It’s a work in progress.
How is it to be on television and to run a full design business as well?
Really busy! But very rewarding. My clients are great a sounding-board and I consider them partners in the creation of their space. I’ve had some of my clients for 15 years, when I first opened my business. They teach me and have given me a lot of ideas. I’m a designer first and business owner second. My strength is in the creative side. That’s where my clients are great as they remind me to always stay on top of the business stuff. And the television side allows me to do what I do best: Talk! And about Design!
What is good design?
There is a lot of debate about this but I think that good design is complex. It has to definitely answer the needs of the client but it is my responsibility to show the client the best options available in terms of layout, materials, concept, colour, etc. And of course, good design is healthy, safe and sustainable. And in all of that, there still needs to be beauty.
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