Kelly Hoppen has educated and taught herself with each job she undertook, with no formal training in design. She grew with experience, after her first job — designing the kitchen of a family friend at the age of 16. From that day on, there was no looking back. She went on to design the home of a F1 driver. Kelly believes that word of mouth is a powerful tool because as and when more people saw her work she got more jobs.

The most ambitious thing that she did was leave school to start her own business — a terrifying experience but entirely worth it. Kelly says that she would never leave a design that she was not entirely happy with.