Katia Kolovea
Katia is an award-winning lighting designer, communication strategist, and advocate of the Lighting Design Profession. She is the founder of Archifos and her international work combines architectural lighting with Immersive lighting experiences and engaging marketing communications, collaborating with the best designers and brands to share their stories in an innovative and impactful way.
She is involved in various community-based and educational projects in the lighting industry like the Women in Lighting, the Silhouette Awards, and the VLDCommunity. Katia is the founder of the Lighting Police Project advocating about the impact of light, empowering everyone to observe it more consciously. Katia loves sharing ideas and has been invited by various worldwide organisations and universities to talk about light, communication, light art, mentorship, and inspiration amongst others.
Paul Shoosmith
Paul Shoosmith of Light Forms, has worked in architectural lighting specification and project sales for more than 25 years, across four companies. Having worked on projects across every continent - ranging from airport lounges to large workplaces, as well as hotels and retail roll outs, Paul has worked from concept to delivery on-site and has always worked to support clients with their ideas and concepts, making them work practically, as well as aesthetically.
"I love the lighting industry," said Paul. "It has been very good to me over the years and allowed me to meet some incredibly talented people and work on genuinely world class projects."
Krishna Mistry
Krishna Mistry has been working within the lighting industry for over 12 years and in 2020 set up her own independent lighting design consultancy, Mistry Lighting.
Krishna has worked across all sectors of design and some her notable projects include Tottenham Stadium, Tattu Edinburgh and over 25 Nando’s across the UK.
She is extremely passionate about lighting and occasionally gives talks at the university of Portsmouth sharing her knowledge of lighting from the place where she graduated as an interior designer.
Stephanie Dias
BIID member Stephanie Dias is the founder of Sdias London. She is a British Jamaican Interior designer, born and raised in Holland Park, London. With a passion to incorporate inspirations from both home and abroad in her design work. Her extensive portfolio includes work with multi award winning developers and designers across central London.
Stephanie launched her own business within the super prime residential interior design industry in 2016 to amplify an additional layer of interior design that she felt was lacking. Curating truly timeless interiors that can be enjoyed in both the now and future.
Susie Rumbold
Susie is the Founder and Creative Director of Tessuto, a successful, multidisciplinary design studio, based in London, and a Past President of the British Institute of Interior Design.
Established in 1993, Tessuto is an award winning, technically advanced, full service, architectural interior design studio with experience across a variety of industry sectors. Tessuto have successfully completed commissions ranging from luxury, private client residential work, high end multi residential sales developments, prestigious single house developments and large scale PRS schemes to hospitality, workplace and other commercial projects.
They also specialise in the restoration of heritage buildings, including grade 1 listed, and have completed projects abroad, most recently in Japan. Susie has a special interest in residential design for Aging in Place and qualified as a specialist practitioner in this field with the US based National Association of Home Builders in 2020.
Susie is regularly approached for expert commentary on interior design issues and appears frequently in the national and trade media. She is also in-demand as a speaker on interior design, hosting a monthly podcast on interior design industry issues, giving talks and chairing discussions at design events across the country.
She is a judge for the British Homes Awards, the Northern Design Awards, the CEDIA Technology Awards and the BIID Interior Design Awards, and she is the industry representative for the National Design Academy, currently sitting on their degree validation committee at De Montfort University. She is still active within the British Institute of Interior Design and has recently assisted in the development of a suite of Interior Design Professional Services contracts in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
She undertakes expert witness work acting for the courts as an impartial adviser for clients and designers in professional negligence disputes, and has recently authored the BIID Project Book, an authoritative work on professional practice for interior designers published by the RIBA.
Stephen Dick
BIID member Stephen Dick believes that the architectural design and interior decoration of our homes can have a powerful influence on our lives and wellbeing. An award-winning designer, he founded Residence Interior Design to work closely with private clients on the interior design of their homes.
His projects are underpinned by the principle of intuitive design and are holistic in their approach, embracing setting, architecture and lifestyle. From architectural interior remodelling through to complete interior decoration schemes, by recognising the individual nature of each client and their home, the results are unique, tailored interiors with a sense of longevity.
A high-flyer at London’s renowned Inchbald School of Design, he graduated with distinctions in both the Diploma & Post-graduate Diploma in Architectural Interior Design. He was thrilled to be awarded the annual Principal’s Prize, and after years of experience in the industry he was also in demand back at the school as both a design tutor and lecturer.
His design work has been showcased in a range of industry-leading consumer and trade interiors magazines, and he was selected as one of the ‘Top Ten Rising Stars’ in Interior Design by idfx Magazine. He has lectured at the V&A as part of London Design Week, is a regular contributor to interior design current affairs, and is a member of the judging panel for the UK Bathroom Designer of the Year competition.
Before answering his true calling with his second career in interior design, he worked for ten years in the Fine Art insurance market in Lloyd’s of London – his professionalism and discerning eye serving him well in his design career.
John Williams
John Williams is the Founder/Director of SpaceInvader, a Manchester-based consultancy he set up in 2009, following a decade working in the UK and USA for leading architectural practices. SpaceInvader is fast becoming one of the UK’s premier interiors agencies, with projects covered by the press worldwide and nominated for over 40 awards. SpaceInvader projects have, to date, been award winners at the BCO North and OAS Development Awards, the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, the Sustainable Design Collective Awards, Mixology North and the London Design Awards, where the company was also named the UK’s ‘Best Medium-Sized Design Agency’ in 2020.
John leads his creative team across many sectors, including hospitality, commercial workplaces, retail, developer residential and cultural, public-facing environments. Clients include leading brands and institutions, from Accor to Hilton, Tribe, Pullman and Wilde Hotels Group; Lloyds Bank; JDSports; Manchester City Football Club; Legal & General; AVIVA; MUSE and Bruntwood.
John is a member of the BCO, a BritList-nominated designer and a regular industry speaker, commentator, panellist and podcast guest. He has appeared at events across the design, property, hospitality and workplace sectors – from Material Source to Meet Up North – and has recently been profiled by Design Insider, for whom he is a Design Ambassador, with a focus on both his leadership style and on his future vision for the hospitality sector. John has also contributed thought leadership pieces to Architecture Magazine, Work in Mind, Natwest Business Hub, Be the Business, Designerati, DARC and Hotel Designs, with a stand-out piece on what great design is all about published in FX in 2023 as part of the magazine’s regular ‘Radical Thinking’ column.
John believes in evolving and pushing design projects at every stage, whilst remaining loyal to the SpaceInvader ethos of collaboration and authentic, location-specific schemes. His relaxed and friendly personal style ensures a positive and happy studio culture, where creativity is continually encouraged, directly enabling the team’s questioning, creative approach.
John is a strong advocate for a more sustainable future, pushing for the use of sustainable products and materials and projects with the lowest possible carbon impact and energy use. He believes the carbon footprint of the construction sector remains a massive issue and that businesses need to do more than pay lip service to get to net zero.
John also believes in design with a social value and that the vision of each project should continue out into the community, with both hotel and office developments offering areas for local small businesses and retailers, for example, and at manageable rent levels, so that not only the look but the vibrancy and integrity of schemes is optimised and enabled.
Debbie Power
BIID member Debbie Power has a strong background in brand and experience-led interiors. She rapidly gained extensive sports and hospitality experience and now leads KSS' creative interior and graphic design team on a number of KSS’ high-profile sports venue and hospitality projects, including Westview - Chelsea FC, Club Wembley hospitality – Wembley National Stadium, East Stand Hospitality Expansion - Twickenham, Main and Anfield Road stand hospitality – Liverpool FC, 1901 Club hospitality – Brighton & Hove Albion FC. As well as training centres for Crystal Palace FC Academy, Liverpool FC, Leicester City FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Tottenham Hotspurs FC.
Debbie believes in the practice ethos and has curated a process of understanding client values to create a tangible and unique design brief to generate bespoke and tailored ideas. She takes time to understand, listen and build lasting relationships with our clients to ensure that our projects deliver their requirements and exceed their aspirations.
Her passion is sculpting creative and memorable environments that provide a lasting experience to their users. Her natural sense of style, passion, attention to detail and ability to communicate her ideas means she is well-liked by her clients.
She is a strong team player who enjoys collaboration and working for a multi-disciplinary, collaborative agency across multi sectors, constantly challenges and excites her creativity.
Tapio Rosenius
Tapio Rosenius is a Finnish designer and an entrepreneur and has been working with light as a medium for design collaborations, product innovation and art since 1998.
He is the co-founder and CEO at Skandal Technologies developers of the POET Creator control system envisioned to create and manage the new breed of real-time environments that combine data, lighting, media, sound and sensing to influence how people experience places.
His work seeks to create tangible connection between artificial light, media, digital futures and the human experience. He is a pioneer in the use of biomimetic and responsive lighting control in built environment and continues to develop systems, masterplans, visions and technologies related to this field at Skandal Tech.
In 2009 he founded Lighting Design Collective (LDC) a thought-leading international lighting design practice in Madrid, Spain and later co-founded LDC studios in Helsinki and London. In 2014 he co-created “Think-in-a-Tank” lighting research program taking place during Helsinki Design Week and is actively involved in EU wide research programs and events.
His work has been recognised in design fields including the Media Architecture Biennale Award and the IALD Award of Excellence. His publications include “Create the Livable City”, 2014, London. He has acted as guest lecturer and critic for ETSAM University in Madrid, IED Madrid, UPC Barcelona, Parsons School of Design in New York, Aalto University in Helsinki and many others. Tapio lives and works in Madrid, Spain.
Grimanesa Amorós
"Illuminating Boundaries: The Exploration and Creation of Art Through Light"
Grimanesa Amorós is a Peruvian-born American multimedia creative whose work explores community connections intersecting history, technology, and architecture. Her keen understanding of structure enables her to create monumental sculptures incorporating various elements such as video, lighting, and electronic components to create immersive environments and connect the viewer to their surroundings.
Technology compliments the concepts of her work without defining it — a medium of expression. Describing her work as a "constant romance with the unknown", Amorós first incorporated light into her practice following a fated trip to Iceland. While there, she saw the northern lights and realized the powerful ephemeral magic light held. She discusses light's ability to transcend social and geographic boundaries "we all connect to light."
Drawing upon critical cultural legacies and landscapes, Amorós is inspired by the communities she creates within. Installing and programming each piece on-site, direct interaction with the surrounding architecture is key to creating her work. "Ultimately, the piece connects the viewers, space, and light sculpture, merging them into one." Grimanesa Amorós' artwork ties the past, present, and future — pushing viewers to think beyond and challenging their initial perceptions.
Commenting on her involvement in the UK's only exhibition dedicated to lighting specification, Amorós said: "LiGHT 23 will be where those who love light can unite and convene about the latest tech and how light is being used. Join me for this year's LiGHT 23 to learn how light and art intermingle and how to live in 'A constant Romance with the Unknown'. I am looking forward to seeing you all.”
