Next door to the new look Riverbank Café, you will find Georgina Jeffries has set up her Interior Architecture and Design business. From the moment you walk in you know there is a professional in the background here; the four years she spent qualifying (with honours) at RMIT sticks out a mile.
However when she graduated from school she was at odds about what career path to follow. She took a year off to decide. In the end it was her family, among them artists and designers, and taking into consideration the number of times she had moved her bedroom furniture around, suggested a choice related to interior design.
Her first job after qualifying was in the hotel industry (including Hilton and Park Hyatt). Next she accepted a job with a boutique design office in Melbourne. In 2009 she opened her own business in Fitzroy, called WONDER.
Four years ago she met her partner, a photographer who she calls a coastal man – a total devotee to the Surf Coast. Sharing a passion for camping and hiking they decided to spend six months exploring Australia. Georgina sold her business and off they went. They had such a wonderful experience living close to nature that Melbourne had lost its appeal by the time they returned.
An urge to be by the water was flavouring their ‘what next’. Searching for their ideal, they tried Anglesea before they found their eureka moment in Lorne, just eight months ago. They bought a house and then ‘everything seemed to fall into place rather fast.’
In no time Georgina had set up a new business – Pico (retail) at the front and her studio at the rear. She already has new coastal clients as well as many from Melbourne days. She is busy even after eight months but intends to stay small . ‘In my industry I believe clients prefer a personal experience and that’s what I want to be able to offer.
‘We are loving Lorne from all perspectives and we are finding so much to do here. In the winter if it gets quieter I would like to be a volunteer at the Hospital.’
Georgina says her mission is to be surrounded by beautiful things. Go and visit her and you will see she had achieved that already – in spades.
