Growing up in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Ella Nartey didn’t know any artists or designers to look up to. Instead she was persuaded to go down the academic route, and gained a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Nottingham. She moved to London in 2020, working for an award-winning architectural practice, but knew she wanted to get into more conceptual design in interiors or set design. “I loved that the Royal College of Art would give me the freedom to explore and develop my own personal identity and style,” she says.
She began a one-year master’s in interior design in September 2022, while continuing to work part-time as an architectural assistant, receiving financial support as a recipient of a Burberry Design Scholarship, which made it possible for her to study. Last year she designed a zero-waste restaurant, developing a number of biomaterials using food waste and by-products, which won the Hyundai Inspiration prize for Sustainability and Creative Practice.
