Treehouse Hotel Manchester | Thursday 9 October 2025
Guests were warmly welcomed by Sean Holt, Managing Director of Commercial Interiors UK, to the organisation’s Autumn Networking event at Treehouse Hotel Manchester. With more than 90 designers and suppliers gathered, the evening set the perfect stage for connection, inspiration, and conversation.
The headline session featured Alys Bryan, Editorial Director of Design Insider, CIUK’s proud media partner, in a lively 30-minute one-to-one conversation with Franky Rousell, Founder & CEO of JOLIE.
The talk began with a fast-paced quickfire round that set the tone for the evening, light-hearted, personal, and full of energy. We learnt that Franky is fuelled by tea in the morning, that no colour will ever be off the table, that if she wasn't a designer she might have been a paramedic, and that she’s not one to get pinned down on overrated trends. This blend of humour and openness carried through the entire conversation.
Moving into more reflective territory, Franky spoke about founding JOLIE in Manchester with a bold global outlook. Launching a studio so young was undeniably risky, but she described how the constraints of northern budgets sharpened her team’s creativity and built a culture of innovation, resilience, and supplier collaboration. Nearly three years ago, she recognised the need for “feet on the ground” in London, leading to JOLIE’s second studio, one that thrives on scale, complexity, high expectations, and the challenges that come with an increased budget.
The conversation then leapt across the Atlantic to JOLIE’s newest chapter: a third studio in New York, launched just two weeks earlier. Franky shared her personal love of the city and its blend of opportunity, ambition, competition. Despite the difficulty of breaking into a market built on long-standing allegiances, she sees enormous opportunity: “Once the doors open, collaboration flows.” For JOLIE, she said, New York represents a place where UK-quality design delivery meets American creative daring.
Franky also shared JOLIE’s design ethos, one rooted in designing for the senses. By addressing all five senses at the core of every project, the studio ensures that the user experience is central to each design decision. This human-centric approach, she explained, has allowed JOLIE to deliver inclusive, emotionally resonant spaces across the full spectrum of commercial sectors. It’s an ethos that she and her team are deeply passionate about.
Franky’s fearless ambition, generosity, and sharp humour made her an audience favourite, earning glowing feedback from attendees.
The evening continued with drinks, food, and socialising, a night that celebrated risk-taking, connection, and the expanding reach of UK design.