Our tutors
Deborah Atkins
Besides being totally passionate about all things related to interior design, Deborah Atkins is the director of an interior design company, Red Door Interiors, and has designed the interiors of homes and businesses in Australia for the past twenty years.
Deborah began her interior design career as a magazine journalist working for a top interior design magazine in South Africa. She worked with international photographers, styling and writing articles on exclusive residential interiors.
It was a natural progression from that to immersing herself fully in interior design by working for a few major commercial design companies and then starting her own very successful interior design company in South Africa, where she designed both commercial and residential interiors.
After moving to Australia in 2001 and working for a couple of interior design companies, she then launched her own company, which has designed the interiors of businesses and homes in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Interior design has seen her travel and design homes and boutique hotels in places like the UK, Cyprus and Seychelles. “It’s demanding and exacting work,” says Deborah, “but that is why I love it – it’s never boring, and there’s always a challenge to resolve!”
Deborah has been teaching and mentoring students of design for the past five years while still working on her own projects and so brings a wealth of experience to her tutoring work. She is also a member of the DIA.
Deborah has four fur babies – a “toy moodle” called Charlie, and three cats, Ziggie, Scarlett and Max – whom she adores.
When she isn’t engrossed in work, Deborah enjoys painting, working on home projects, and long walks with Charlie on the beach.
Wendi Snyder
Wendi Snyder started a career in theatre, specialising in costume and set design for student and professional productions at the Alexander Theatre Monash University.
She stayed there for ten years before working with theatre producers, such as Michael Edgley, Kevin Jacobson and Cameron Macintosh.
Her twenty-five year career in theatre took her around the world where she educated herself in architecture and interior design.
She left show business to work with property developers as an interior designer in commercial but mostly residential applications.
Wendi works as a tutor for The Interior Design Institute, is a member of the DIA, runs her own interior design company and consults on predominantly domestic projects, specialising in kitchen, bathrooms and colour schemes.
Linda Bistricic
Linda has a Bachelor degree in Interior Design from RMIT, Melbourne, having worked with the iconic Bates Smart, the largest Architecture and Interior Design firm in Australia, on many high profile commercial interior design projects before starting a career in teaching.
Linda has over twenty years experience in teaching interior design at TAFE, as coordinator of the interior design department and in curriculum design and development. She is a passionate design educator known for her empathetic mentoring style and specialises in teaching design fundamentals and methodology, colour and drawing.
Currently, Linda also works in private practice as a colour consultant and as a freelance artist. She is working towards a painting exhibition and expanding her commission base to the interior design industry.
She has been a guest presenter at the Melbourne Home Show since 2017 and is a member of the DIA and the National Association for the Visual Arts.
Vicki Mullins
Vicki Mullins started her career as a graphic designer in the magazine publishing industry and worked as a freelance artist, painting commission artwork for interior designers and private clients. During this time, she developed a passion for interior design whilst renovating her house as a hobby. After completing six large-scale renovation projects, she decided to study interior design formally and turn her passion into a career.
She has worked as an architectural lighting designer and interior designer on residential, commercial, retail and hospitality projects, allowing her to combine her love of colour and design fundamentals with the more technical requirements of lighting design.
During her time in the training and assessment sector, Vicki has passionately worked with Melbourne Polytechnic, NSW TAFE and now with our team at IDI. She is also a member of the DIA.
As our head tutor, Vicki has a wealth of knowledge and now leads our education team, in addition to hosting various online workshops for our students and curriculum development.
She is a people-orientated leader and mentor with a keen interest in empowering students to reach their full potential and become future designers.
Robert Parisi
Robert Parisi began to develop his interest and passion for architecture and interior design as a young child.
After successfully completing his bachelor of architecture at The University of Technology, Robert worked for several years in an exceptionally reputable and exclusive firm.
With this experience, Robert joined his family’s successful interiors business specialising in interior fittings and finishes, particularly kitchen and bathroom design.
His designs have been featured in several magazines and publications, such as Trends, Houses, Kitchens and Bathrooms Quarterly and Indesign.
Robert is now taking that invaluable knowledge and adapting it to his own projects today.
Talin Leask
Talin’s interior design career started upon graduation from the Academy of Design in Montreal, Canada.
She traveled to Dubai where she worked with large architectural and design practices, working on large hotels, residential projects and retail outlets in newly built shopping malls across the city.
After moving to London, she was able to work for Greenline Interiors, which specialised in yacht interiors, and for large scale royal residents based in the Middle East.
Having founded her own company some years ago, she has managed to build her own clientele and has worked on refurb projects across the city as well as being involved in new build apartment projects in newly developed areas of London. She works closely with clients who have requested her expertise in office layouts, retail units and is currently working on a few commercial projects.
Her attention to detail and working closely with each client is what makes her method unique.
Laura Encinas Ortega
Laura studied architectural technology at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain and completed her degree at Vitus Bering University in Denmark. In 2003, she moved to the UK where she studied interior architecture at Oxford Brookes University.
Laura has worked in international projects located in the UK, Europe, and Asia within the environs of award-winning architectural practices. Laura has experience working on commercial, high-end residential, cultural and educational projects from large-scale master planning to bespoke furniture solutions.
She also developed specialised knowledge in visual merchandising at BAU School of Design in Barcelona, which led her to work in private commissions involving marketing strategy, retail interior and furniture design as well as collaborating with both national and international retail companies.
In 2018, Laura founded Bicbloc; an architectural design studio focused on creating design solutions to reimagine living spaces that are socially and environmentally sustainable.
Meghan Yang
Meghan Yang has a bachelor’s degree in interior design and has had her own interior design business since 2009. Growing up with a father who did commercial construction in the Los Angeles area, she has always been engulfed in the industry.
Meghan’s work ranges from residential to small commercial work, with an emphasis on new builds and major renovation. Although her personal design aesthetic is clean contemporary, she loves layering styles and always represents the client’s personal taste in their space. She finds inspiration from art, fashion, and travelling.
Over the past five years, she has designed multiple homes selling for upwards of 8 million dollars. Meghan’s work on these types of projects has broadened her already vast knowledge of codes, space planning, materials, and full service design.
Meghan is excited to share her experience in design and working with contractors and architects with our students.
