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What's In My Portfolio: Isabelle Miaja

Photography by Chino Sardea
07 Feb 2019

Ms. Isabelle Miaja is an award-winning interior designer and the owner of Miaja Gallery and Miaja Art Collections

"When I first arrived in Singapore from the US, after being raised in Paris and Madrid, I had no other ambition other than the dream of setting up a small studio and do what I love – to design and be creative. I still remember finding this little office, which seemed to be no bigger than a napkin. Looking out the window onto Orchard Road, with my assistant at the time named Mei, I decided then and there to take the lease.

Mei and I set the tone and made Miaja Design Group to what it is today – a family-owned design company. We are a close-knit team, where we take time for tea break and cake at 5pm, which is a tradition set by my father in his own atelier in Paris. It is a daily tradition I still keep here in Singapore 25 years later.

At the group, we call our team the “Beehive” – each of us “busy bees”, contributing to the unique nature of our designs. We are passionate, multi-cultural, and thirsty for inspiration, stretching our imaginations each day.

From amazing residential projects to our first hotel, the adventure keeps growing, and through the good and bad times, we grow from strength to strength. My interior design and art businesses encompass the motto, “The essence of style is to live the Art of being Unique”, and it’s what I live by: A passion for the unique and distinctive.

This year is also very important for me. It marks my 25th year as an interior designer in Singapore. The group is now focused on providing interior design and architecture solutions, largely specialized in hospitality projects. I am very proud of our most recent resort projects, which includes LUX* North Male Atoll, Maldives and So Sofitel Singapore.

In 2018, I reopened Miaja Gallery in a larger location, focusing on art installations with groundbreaking artists. I am also opening a second gallery called Miaja Art Collections, which is a contemporary art gallery devoted to encouraging visual dialogues to inspire and enrich our daily lives."