Welcome to Tyla Design, an expression of my love for design and everything it entails. This business has been a few slow years in the making, and it is now finally at the point of meeting the public.
A bit of background about me.
I was born in South Africa where I lived for the first five years of my life before moving with my family to Hong Kong for the next eleven. After that we moved to San Francisco where I completed my final two years of high school before moving to Cape Town for University. I had never lived in Cape Town before, but for years I just knew I wanted to live here.
I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to see and explore Table Mountain everyday and the vibrant city that has been my home now for over ten years.
My first day of University, I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do (cliché I know)
I took a while to figure out what it was I “wanted to do with my life”, as I’m sure many people experience. I was incredibly lucky to have a supportive family and the opportunities to explore enough to find what turned out to be my absolute calling – design.
A bit of anxiety kicked in as soon as I started my studies in Industrial Design because I had found something that I really didn’t want to lose. I worked harder than I had ever been compelled to before, and completed a B.Tech in Industrial Design.
I was never an artist or “creative” growing up, so I was in the deep end from day one. My illustration skills were quite laughable, and I wasn’t sure where to start. I was creative in a few abstract ways in my childhood and have always been drawn to music, taking things apart and the inner workings and mechanics of found things.
Both of my grandfathers were mechanics / welders / builders, anything they had to do for the farm life, they did. My Oma was a perfectionist (beyond measure), and my granny Moira has one of the best problem solving brains I’ve come across, as much as she will try and deny it. I can feel each of these things in the work that I do, and I only wish I could have learned more from them all.
My father started out as a mechanic and worked really hard to provide an incredible life for my mother, sister and I. He taught me hard work and discipline, and to keep getting up when you get knocked down. My mother taught me how not to care when you shouldn’t, when it is ok to throw caution to the wind, as well as a throwback of perfectionism. And my sister Nikita has been my biggest unwavering support and cheerleader, and is a brilliant, dynamic bit of soul food for everyone she meets. You can check out one of her many talents in the portfolio section.
All this to sound like I’m making an acceptance speech of a long and successful career in design (haha), when in reality this is the inception of what will hopefully be a somewhat successful and enjoyable career in design. But hey, dream big and talk like you’ve already won the trophy, right?
Leave a Reply