Introducing Georgie Ridl
Posted on: June 18, 2021, in News
Georgie has joined our décor team and has been responsible for spa and room upgrades as well as Skye Bistro prior to lockdown.
Georgie is a mother of 3, an artist, textile designer, and interior decorator.
After qualifying from Durban Technikon in 1999 she ventured overseas to pursue a career in Textile Design. She first moved to London and started working in Georgina von Etzdorf shop in Burlington arcade, a well-known British Designer who’s famous for her luxurious velvet scarves and clothing accessories. Von Etzdorf designs are one of a kind and working there was a huge inspiration to Georgina.
She then received an opportunity to further her design career in Italy, working and living on Lake Como with the company D.R studio. It was an incredibly exciting team who created original designs for some of the top fashion houses in Milan.
After her fantastic exposure in the fashion world she returned to London and started working for various design companies, including David Lee Designs, Tom Cody Designs and Rowena Bristow Designs, designing numerous creations. Each company taught her a different set of techniques and skills. Working for David Lee she worked with discharge dyes and acid dyes. All designs were painted directly onto the fabric. Tom Cody Designs is a company that uses transfer dyes. Georgina painted her designs onto paper and transferred them to fabric using a heat press. At Rowena Bristow Design all creations were completed on a computer using a design software called Colour matters. The company would then get 1m of each design digitally printed. All designs were then sold at trade shows like Premier Vision in Paris (for apparel or interior).
After her first son was born in London she decided to move back to South Africa. Georgina and her family lived in Durban for 2 years and Somerset West for 7 years. Where she started to paint again focusing on oils and mixed media. Her paintings where sold through word of mouth and at an art gallery in Somerset west.
Georgina returned to Nottingham Road in 2014, her childhood town, with her husband and three children. She continued to paint in her spare time keeping her creativity alive. Georgina is an eternal student of her art. The process of painting is never-ending, with every new painting bringing its own set of challenges and joys!
She has recently refurbished the restaurant, reception rooms, indoor pool area, and juice bar at Fordoun Hotel and Spa. Georgina took on this new challenge with the realisation that interior design is another passion of hers. Having a textile design background, interior decorating seemed to come naturally to her. The newly decorated rooms were a great success and she has had some excellent reviews on her work. Her latest venture is creating a range of fabrics inspired by nature in particular birds and flowers of KZN. Her first print is called “The Secretary bird” A modern yet subtle take on the majestic Secretary bird amongst the Leontis Leonurus plant that is indigenous to the KZN Midlands.