Interview: Jade Nottage and Cushla McFadden of Tom Mark Henry.

Tom Mark Henry is one of Sydney’s most burgeoning design practices, acing everything from luxury private homes to large-scale hotels with a dynamic approach. Founders Jade Nottage and Cushla McFadden met on their first day of university, becoming friends over the course of their Interior Architecture degrees. Finding themselves looking for work at the same time, one-year post graduating, the pair threw caution to the wind and founded their own practice.

In what must only feel like fate, Tom Mark Henry has gone from strength to strength, now with a team of 11 who tackle 20-30 projects at a time. Nottage and McFadden credit landing WeWork as a client as a turning point and learning curve during their seminal days, at a time when co-working spaces were just taking off in Australia. The practice has now built a rich portfolio across commercial, retail, hospitality and residential projects, applying a signature ability to not overcomplicate while making a space memorable.

Read on for our full interview with the founders, covering everything from creative inspiration to organisational strategies and up-and-coming new work.

Bischoff Residence in Vaucluse, Sydney (2019). Photography by Pablo Veiga. Styling by Montana Valich.

+ Hello Jade and Cushla, welcome to Yellowtrace! Could you please give us a quick introduction on yourselves and the path that lead you to start Tom Mark Henry?

Thank you for having us! We met at University on the first day, and formed a friendship over 5 years of studying a Bachelor of Interior Architecture. After Uni, we went separate ways for a year with Jade taking on a graduate role with an architecture practice in Sydney, and Cushla moving to New York and working for an architecture firm in Manhattan. Upon Cushla moving back to Sydney and Jade finishing up a contract at the architecture practice, we were both looking for jobs at the same time, which were scarce, so we threw caution to the wind and started working for ourselves. We started small, taking on jobs for friends, and friends of friends. Tom Mark Henry grew organically from there.

C.C. Babcoq in Cronulla, Sydney (2018). Photography by Damian Bennett.

+ What is your main priority when starting projects? Is there something that is fundamental to your practice – your philosophy and your process?

Research! Getting to know the clients, and their goals is our main priority. We make sure we understand this whole heartedly before we begin to design. Often clients don’t articulate their priorities themselves (although we love it when they do!) so we take the time to draw this out, and invest the most amount of time upfront in the concept design stage to ensure a brief is thoroughly researched and communicated back to the client through materiality, imagery, 3D perspectives, and rendered floor plans and elevations.

California Nails in Barangaroo, Sydney (2017). Photography by Damian Bennett.

+ Businesses and relationships all evolve over time. What is your approach to dealing with growth and change, within Tom Mark Henry and in the interior design industry as a whole?

Surrounding ourselves with a team and clients who share the same values of design, and for which there is a mutual respect for each other and the process helps to navigate growth and change more easily. In this industry, we need to be adaptive and responsive so we maintain those qualities as much as possible and keep ourselves informed through talks and events as to where the industry is headed.

Clovelly House, Sydney (2018). Photography by Damian Bennett. Styling by Jack Milenkovic.

+ How is your studio structured? How many of you work in the studio, what types of skills do you have in-house, is there anything you are outsourcing, and how many projects do you handle at any one time?

We currently have 11 in the studio, including our design team, studio manager, and ourselves. We do pretty much everything in house from concept through to construction documentation and design management on site. Depending on the project, we may outsource photorealistic 3Ds. Typically we have 20-30 projects on in the office at one time in various stages of completion.

Darlinghurst Terrace, Sydney (2018). Photography by Pablo Veiga. Styling by Claire Delmar.

+ How do you organise and manage the competing demands of modern business and life? Do you have any tip or tricks you could share with us that help you in your day to day?

Just over a year ago, we implemented Daylite in the studio. It is our calendar, contacts, project list, task list, and pipeline all in one place. We have a regular Monday morning team meeting to run through projects, tasks and deadlines on Daylite and set deliverables for the week. We also have an external CFO who we check in with once a fortnight, which keeps the business side of things in check.

Microsoft Technology Centre, Sydney (2018). Photography by Damian Bennett.

+ Has there been any particular project, client, or an important set of skills you’ve developed that has changed the course of your practice?

Landing WeWork as a client at the beginning of the co-working movement in Australia was a turning point for us as a practice. They were our biggest client, and at the time the fastest growing company in the world, so it was a huge learning curve to keep up with working with a company like that, especially when as a business, we were only a couple of years in. We learnt many valuable lessons on that project, and as such it has led to other projects with global clients like Snap Inc and Microsoft.

Bistecca, Sydney (2018). Photography by Damian Bennett.

+ What do you feel is the most challenging part of being an interior designer today? And if you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

Most challenging would have to be the timelines imposed on projects, which seem to be getting shorter and shorter. If we could, we would change having to justify the time required to understand, respond and design to a brief, and then produce a full set of documentation to communicate our designs to a team of tradespeople to actually build from.

Bondi Residence, Sydney (2018). Photography by Damian Bennett. Styling by Emma Elizabeth.

+ What are your top 3 main sources of inspiration and references you are drawn to regularly – i.e. books, magazines, websites/ blogs, podcasts etc.?

Books, travel and online including Yellowtrace, of course. A regular comment in the office at the start of the day is “Did you see Yellowtrace this morning!?”

Mullenlowe Profero Office, Sydney (2017). Photography by Damian Bennett.

Ramen Zundo Sapporo in Chatswood, Sydney (2019). Photography by Damian Bennett.

+ Who or what are some of your influences? What other designers, peers and creatives, in general, do you admire?

This is a tricky question, as our inspiration is ever changing. Different designers, peers and creatives inspire us for various reasons on different days. To name a few that currently come to mind, Axel Vervoordt. His book Wabi Inspirations is full of inspirational spaces derived from the Japanese concept Wabi – all about simplicity and authenticity. Mies Van Der Rohe, the father of minimalism. Farnsworth House is one of Cushla’s all time favourite examples of architecture and interior design. We admire the ability to not over-complicate a design, and to be confident in doing so. On the other hand, we admire bold designers such as Kelly Wearstler, whose vibrant designs are a melting pot of different ideas and influences. This motivates us to push our own creative boundaries. Finally local designers, our peers, really inspire us to keep producing great work, as the bar keeps getting raised higher and higher at home.

1888 Certified in Double Bay, Sydney (2015). Photography by Damian Bennett.

Dead Ringer in Surry Hills, Sydney (2015). Photography by Damian Bennett.

+ What advice would you give to emerging designers? What was one of your biggest lessons learned since starting your practice?

Persevere and don’t see failures as failures, take them as learning experiences to build from. We call them “flearnings” in the office.

+ What would be your dream creative project or a collaboration?

A boutique hotel.

+ What’s next – can you share with us your vision, some of your goals (and some of your current projects)?

We currently have an exciting education project in the office, which is our first foray into this sector and an innovative new healthcare client who is changing how healthcare is delivered.

The Well at Bondi Beach, Sydney (2017). Photography by Damian Bennett.

Tom Mark Henry’s materials palettes.

Let’s Get Real:

+ What’s the best mistake you have ever made?

CM: Not getting a job!

JN: Getting my first uni degree wrong, enabling me to meet Cushla in my 2nd attempt!

+ Best piece of advice you’ve been given?

CM: Stay true to yourself.

JN: Learn from your mistakes.

+ Your most treasured belonging?

CM: Family.

JN: My children.

+ What’s one thing other people may not know about you?

CM: I can’t taste chilli.

JN: I studied architecture in Spain.

+ It’s not very cool, but I really like…

CM: Going to bed early.

JN: Antiques Roadshow.

Vibe Hotel in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney (2017). Photography by Damian Bennett.

WeWork in Martin Place, Sydney (2016). Photography by Damian Bennett.

[Images courtesy of Tom Mark Henry. Photography credits as noted.]