The story of Unika Interior (and its co-founders)
We’ve been working on something we’re extremely proud and thankful for. We recorded a presentation video for TEDx Padova, the second largest TEDx community in Italy. Recently, they have launched an amazing initiative: telling the stories of young talents born and raised in Padua (our amazing city)!
In the interview that we have translated in English in this article, we talk about how Unika Interior’s idea was born in the midst of the Covid pandemic in 2020, how our projects are created, and what we foresee for the future of our business. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we loved filming it!
What was your journey abroad?
Ilaria – After finishing my bachelor’s degree in Padua, it was clear to me that I would find my passion abroad. I decided to do a Master in Business in Paris and, after realizing that Finance was not for me, I threw myself into what I love: Marketing and small businesses! I have been working in a French start-up remotely for almost 2 years now.
Elena – Like Ilaria, after my bachelor’s degree, I decided to study my Master’s degree abroad, and I came to Copenhagen, a very entrepreneur-friendly city where I have been living for almost six years now. After working in large companies, I felt a great desire to have something of my own, something I could build and grow.
How did you start Unika Interior, where did the idea come from?
Elena – One evening in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, while chatting, we started joking about the fact that we had very different talents – I am more on the operational and strategic side, Ilaria with a lot of experience in marketing and branding, and Beatrice, a true artist and styling expert. So we started thinking about how we could use this artistic talent of Beatrice to create a business. And so, almost naturally, thinking about how much people had to stay at home in those days, we decided that everyone deserved some help in having a cozy home!
What does Unika Interior consist of? What are your values?
Ilaria – Unika Interior offers an interior decoration and furnishing service with 3 main values: affordable, accessible & sustainable. We want to challenge the idea that having an interior designer is something luxurious. Thanks to Beatrice’s talent, we offer this service online, respecting the budget of our clients! The third value is sustainability: in our projects we use second-hand objects that Beatrice finds in various flea markets, we collaborate with local artisans, and we support sustainable brands.
How do you work? How do you create your projects?
Ilaria – We have a fully online process, which allows us to work with clients all over Europe. How does the service work? First of all, our clients send us photos of their existing spaces and Beatrice, at the heart of each project, listens to them to understand their style and needs. From these photos, Beatrice then creates an initial sketch, that you can see now, in which she proposes a certain style, a layout of the space, and a colour palette. We then move on to the actual rendering showing how the proposed objects will furnish and decorate the rooms, as you can see in these pictures. They look like real photos, don’t they? The idea is to get as close as possible to the final result! Here are some examples of the sketch and the rendering of 2 projects! What do you think?
What do you foresee for the future of Unika Interior?
Elena – We foresee the growth of Unika Interior with new projects, and the launch of a new commercial offer – the Deco Kits! These will be compositions to decorate shelves and window sills with products from small local artists and artisans pre-selected by Beatrice – we can’t wait to launch this very ethical and sustainable idea and expand it to Italian customers and artisans! In the future we would like to continue to promote the idea of sustainable interior design and make it accessible to all!
✨ A business is not only a website, a business plan and some revenues: it is first and foremost about the people behind it, their story and the dream they share, turned into reality with dedication and hard work. ✨
Did you enjoy reading our story and idea? Let us know in the comments below! And if you’d like to know more about our service and start your project with us, feel free to contact us via our website to finally create the home you’ve always wanted.
Interview for TEDx Padova. Discover more about us.