Barbara has always had a curious, problem solving mind and a desire to make people’s lives better. To this end, she first completed an MA degree in Law and worked in liberal politics for few years. Soon after she realised she was missing her true passion for design. She retrained to be an interior designer at Veresegyhazi Oktatasi Studio in Budapest where she obtained a distinction. In 2004 Barbara relocated to London. She first worked for Gallery 25, an antique dealership in Belgravia where she developed a love for antiques, especially 20th century Italian pieces. Between 2006-2010 she studied retail, digital textile, graphic and project designs in Central Saint Martins College, London and Hotel Design at Domus Academy, Milan. In 2011 she joined the American design giant, Gensler where she worked as a front end lead designer for over 9 years. During her commercial career she has worked with media clients including Facebook, Google, Universal Pictures, Focus Features, UBM; financial firms including JP Morgan, Discover, T Row Price; consumer firms including Pepsico, Duracell, Procter & Gamble; and law firms including Sidley Austin and Akin Gump. Barbara has always believed in the positive outcomes that can emerge from cross-sector designing, and has never liked to be restricted to one field. In her work, she emphasizes the importance of mixing elements of residential, commercial and hospitality design together. Gensler gave her opportunities to put her ideas into practice, for example in her work on large- scale hotel and mixed use projects in the Middle East. In 2021 she joined Ashen & Cloud as Design Director, working alongside her friend and former colleague Susan McGowan.

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Olga graduated with Honours from Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction with a specialism in Design of Architectural Environment. Post graduation, Olga joined the offices of a Design & Build company in Baku as Project Architect, and worked on a number of high-end residential projects throughout her time there. In 2008, Olga relocated to Ireland and started her family. During her time in Ireland, she worked at Martin Murray Architects, and was involved in a number of Architectural and Interior projects across a range of disciplines in the Residential, Public and Industrial sector. In 2021, Olga became familiar with the work of Ashen&Cloud who are based locally to her in Athlone, and expressed her interest in joining the studio. Olga has since been instrumental in the growth of the studio, with a commitment and passion for assiduous attention to detail on all our studio projects. Olga's design passion is founded on creating a sense of space where every small detail has integrity, evokes a sense of comfort and tranquility, and which harmonises with the character of the client. She is the Technical design lead on our studio projects and also sub-specialises in 3D Visualisation.

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Rebecca graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Interior Architecture and Design from Atlantic Technology University Sligo. She was shortlisted in her final year for her Dissertation by the Writing category for Interior Educators in the UK, and exhibited her work and research on future materials as part of this.

Since graduating, Rebecca has worked across many industry sectors in a creative role, from her work as a Colour Consultant in prominent Irish paints company, to her work as a Design Consultant for some of Ireland's best known Kitchen Joinery companies. Rebecca joined Ashen&Cloud in 2022, and has since excelled in our collaborative environment. Her hands-on approach and affable personality make her a client favourite, and her design talent is both intuitive and creative.

Rebecca has a particular aptitude and passion for combining fabrics, colours, materials and finishes in her design work. This considered approach extends through to the detail design on all our projects, where the minutiae of detail is important, and paramount to the final design outcome.

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Julia has worked as a designer for over 20 years, initially training in Interior Design at Kingston University, London before going on to complete a Masters in Architecture, specialising in Sustainability, in the university of East London.

As an Interior Designer, Julia found that many of her projects started to draw conceptual inspiration from the natural world, and her keen love of the outdoors led her to study Garden Design, eventually making the switch to it as a profession via a diploma from KLC School of Design.

Julia enjoys the interaction between interior and exterior design and the boundaries that can be blurred between the two. She has a passion for architecture and design, in particular Modernist works of the mid-twentieth century and has recently published a book on Dutch garden designer Mien Ruys.

She creates gardens that are functional and beautiful spaces for clients to enjoy, as well as providing habitats for wildlife to thrive.

Julia advises on all aspects of garden design, planning, landscaping, outdoor kitchen and living areas, special interest areas, planting and lighting design. She is also providing E-Garden Design services to our clients upon request, and subject to availability.

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