The Designed Self
Embodiment, Authority and Founder Presence for Interior Designers
Sunday 22 March 2026
Your business is felt before it is understood
In a saturated and increasingly visible industry, what differentiates one interior designer from another is no longer just taste, experience, or technical ability.
It is the felt experience of working with you.
Clients decide whether they trust you - whether they feel safe, reassured, inspired or confident - long before they fully understand your services or fees. This instinctive response is driven by founder presence: the intangible but powerful way you show up in rooms, on site, in meetings, and increasingly, on camera.
For founder-led interior design practices, presence is not a “nice to have”.
It is a commercial asset.
Why Founder Presence Matters
Interior design is a discretionary, high-trust purchase. Clients are not choosing between technical specifications; they are choosing people.
The Designed Self is an in-person, immersive day created specifically for interior designers who want to develop a professional presence that feels:
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grounded in the body
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emotionally contained
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quietly authoritative
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consistent across rooms, sites, meetings and cameras
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sustainable over the long term
This is not a presentation skills workshop.
It is not about “showing up bigger”, louder, or more polished.
It is about designing - and physically inhabiting - the version of yourself your business most needs.
INTRODUCING...
THE DESIGNED SELF RETREAT
A WELL-DESIGNED FOUNDER PRESENCE:
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reduces price sensitivity
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accelerates trust
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strengthens authority in moments of ambiguity
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creates differentiation in a crowded market
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gives clients confidence in your leadership before work even begins
And yet, many designers feel increasingly exposed by the expectation to be visible
PREWORK
Complete the Retreat Workbook to design the version of yourself most needed by your business.
SESSION #1
How the nervous system shapes posture, breath, tension and presence. How to regulate stress and return to steadiness.
SESSION #2
How breath, pace and pause influence how authority is received. Rather than “acting confident,” the emphasis is on clarity, containment, and inhabiting a role without projection.
SESSION #3
A thoughtful, intelligent approach to being seen. Experience the camera as neutral and relational and explore how visibility can be built in layers, from lower-demand formats through to direct address.
SAUNA & POND
Get out of your 'thinking' mind, and enjoy a wonderfully restorative sauna and dip (weather permitting!).
POST RETREAT
Take an intentional, staged approach to the emergence of your founder presence, based on a clear and compelling profile. Become the you your business most needs you to be.
Who This Is For
This day is designed for interior designers who:
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run founder-led practices
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need to be increasingly visible in their business
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feel the pressure to “show up” publicly
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want authority without artifice
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want confidence without constant self-monitoring
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want a presence that supports their business rather than drains them
You do not need to be confident on camera.
You do not need to enjoy visibility.
You simply need to want a professional self you can rely on.
YOUR GUIDES
The day is led by Julia Begbie, founder of Recipe for a Room, and Nicky Herrington, voice coach and photographer.
Julia holds the professional and commercial context - founder-led practice, authority, and the role of presence as a strategic business asset.
Nicky leads the embodied work - drawing on actor-informed practices that support presence, regulation and expression without performance.
Together, they create a calm, intelligent space for serious professional exploration.
"Julia was just as direct as I hoped she would be, giving clear guidance, and steering me in decisions, all in a really supportive and encouraging way. She allowed me to find the right path for me. My confidence, clarity and focus have been the main shifts since starting work with Julia."
Kate Lovejoy
"It felt supportive and steady. I never felt judged for what I didn't know - I felt guided. Each session gave me more clarity and momentum, and I left feeling calmer and more capable. I felt more confident in myself as a designer and as a business owner - and I started taking action instead of spinning."
Leila Rossi
IS THE RETREAT RIGHT FOR YOU?
By the end of the retreat, you can expect to leave with:
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a felt sense of greater physical ease and self-possession
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practical tools for regulating nerves and stress
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a clearer understanding of how authority is communicated through the body
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stronger alignment between who you are and how you show up professionally
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language to recognise when you are inhabiting your role, rather than performing it
Most importantly, you’ll leave with a designed professional self - one you can return to:
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in meetings
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on site
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in presentations
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and in moments of public visibility
Not louder.
Not slicker.
But more settled, coherent, and trusted.
TIMING & VENUE
The DESIGNED SELF RETREAT will be held on:
Sunday 22 March
Arrival from 9.30am for a 10.00am start, until 5.00pm
A healthy lunch is included, as is use of the sauna and swimming pond (weather permitting).
The retreat location is
Southdowns Retreat,
Greenfields Farm,
Kings Barn Lane,
Steyning, West Sussex, BN44 3YG.
SIGN UP TODAY!
The 'Designed Self Retreat' will be held at the Southdown Retreat, in Steyning West Sussex, see details below.
