Interior Stylist Work Experience Starts Here

First comes the Interior Styling lessons

I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this before!

I’ve been teaching Styling for Interiors at the University of The Arts London in Chelsea for five years now and pretty much every time I have students come up to me and ask if they can assist me or my Interior Stylist friends on shoots. They learn all about how to become an Interior Stylist on the course and know that the very first step is to gain work experience.

And on our very own Interior Styling Online Courses and Christmas Styling For Your Brand courses, the students are also keen to get first-hand experience on shoots.

How work experience works

I’ve talked about how to get work experience before but never had a list for people to be found. Of course, if you’re already on track to becoming a stylist and are set up as an assistant you’ll be better off getting a profile on the Style Assistant pages on InsideStylists.com and then the Interior Stylists Page when you’re more experienced. But first comes the working for free part.

Working for Free

I know that working for free doesn’t sound fair but work experience is the first step into the industry and you should have your travel covered and they should feed you on the shoot too. Think of it as using your time wisely – but only once or twice.

I encourage all future interior stylists to start by experiencing at least one commercial shoot and one editorial shoot as work experience. That way you know what to expect, don’t get in the way, trip over camera tripods (yes, I’m talking from first hand experience!) and get an idea of what an assistant’s job on a shoot is.

Once you have two shoots under your belt you can start to charge an assistant rate for your time. Don’t be tempted to work for free more than this. If a stylist asks you back without pay they’re being cheeky. If you’re good enough to call back again you’re good enough to be paid.

How to get on the Work Experience list

This is pretty simple. If you have attended an interior styling course and want to be added onto the list sign up on the form below. I will only be sharing the Work Experience list with my community of professional Interior Stylists so your details are safe.

Got Questions?

Ask them below in the comments section.