Meet Enrika — Amier Home's Co-Founder & Designer
Ever since I was a child I’ve had a thing for interior design. Though of course I didn't know the name of it back then… or that an ‘interior designer’ was even a career choice.
I remember tagging along with Dad to his workshop. He was an incredible painter and the director of the Vilnius art factory in Lithuania, so I got to hang out with his colleagues and play with all sorts of mediums, from mosaics to window staining. When no one was looking, I’d sneak into neighbouring building sites and create “rooms” out of bricks. Little did I know I’d one day be doing this for a living!
Our schooling system is quite unique in Lithuania. There are specialised education options, including art schools, which is where I attended from the age of 7. I still had to learn the traditional parts of the curriculum, but was lucky enough to spend a chunk of my school days doing sculpting, painting & drawing classes. I absolutely loved it.
I then went on to study fashion design, and moved to the UK as soon as I graduated.
I didn’t speak a word of English at the time, so the move was a major culture shock… but I did happen to meet a handsome young Kiwi by the name of Stuart (my now husband & business partner) and together we had the most incredible few years living & working in London. We launched a business over there that saw us work alongside interior designers on large commercial building sites, also large events such as Fashion Week.
Stuart and I shared a love for design in all its forms, so naturally we decided to try our hand at flipping houses. We bought a place in Chiswick (West London), completely transformed it and sold it within a matter of months. We were hooked!
My favourite part of the process was dressing the homes with unique art & decor, usually a mix of new and second hand pieces. We didn't always have big budgets, but half the fun was designing a space strategically and finding pieces that added the wow factor. Funnily enough, every time we sold a house the buyers would ask for the furniture to be kept.
We continued flipping homes when we moved to New Zealand, but quickly realised we no longer had access to the vast range of mid-century furniture or other styles of unique furniture and homewares that we’d taken for granted in the UK.
There was an obvious gap in the NZ market —
Couple this insight with a longing to curate my own home with dreamy interior decor, and ‘Amier’ suddenly went from a far-fetched idea on my notes app to a very real & exciting new business venture.
I truly believe that a life well lived is a life surrounded by people, spaces & objects that make you feel like ‘you.’
There’s a sense of unrivalled contentment, inspiration & happiness when your environment is not only functional for your lifestyle but expressive of you as a person.
Turning houses into homes with emotive, unique spaces for living is what Amier is all about.
In the words of Nate Berkus —
“Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love.”
So I invite you to embrace your individuality. To live life in colour. To have fun with design!
You deserve to live a beautiful life,
Enrika x