So what’s it like to teach art to two national treasures? Telegraph journalist, Ros Belford, talks to her friend, artist and interior designer, Alicia Zimnickas.

When Cambridge artist Alicia Zimnickas was asked to give a painting lesson to Great Canal Journey presenters, Gyles Brandreth and Sheila Hancock, she said ‘Yes,’ then rang me and asked if I’d ever heard of them.

‘Do you know what a National Treasure is?’

Alicia has lived in Cambridge for ten years, but she was born in Poland, and despite speaking perfect English ‘Just A Minute’ had apparently passed her by.

I called by after the filming to see how it went.

‘So how were they as students?’

‘I think it was good I didn’t know how famous they were,’ said Alicia, ‘if I’d known them from TV and radio, I would have been far more nervous. As it was, Sheila treated me exactly as if I was an old friend, and Gyles started joking straight away. They put me completely at my ease.’

‘It was cold, windy and rainy and the weather was absolutely horrible. I had started painting before they arrived, and I remember Sheila looking at my painting, which had yellows, blues, grey, even violet, and then looking at the sky and asking how on earth I could see those colours in the grey. That did make me think. I realised that my attitude to life is always to try to be positive, and so when I paint, I can probably see beyond the superficial dullness to what is brighter. If you think about artists like David Hockney, he can see bright pinks, purples, turquoise in a muddy brown Yorkshire field. Or Turner, the artist of light. Being an artist of light is probably what I aspire to.’

‘Sheila was so cold and wet. I realised she is the kind of person who expects herself to do the things she does really WELL. She looked at what she had painted, and said ‘People like you should paint, not me. I don’t do mediocre.’ Gyles was completely the opposite. He was dying to have a go, and he threw himself into it, laughing and joking despite the weather. He was confident too, and I was quite amazed at the result — it was really beautiful. Is there anything this man can’t do? I looked at his website…WRITER, SPEAKER, BROADCASTER, ACTOR, MP…do we now have to add ARTIST to the list?’

‘And what do you remember most about the day?’

‘Sheila’s hypnotic blue eyes. I don’t usually do portraits, but how I would love to paint the light in Sheila’s eyes. ‘

Publishing Date: Monday 23 August 2021

Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth embark on spectacular canal journeys across Britain. To kick off Season 13, Episode 1 on Channel 4, More 4 is featuring Cambridge based artist and interior
designer, Alicia Zimnickas of AZ Interiors, Gyles and Sheila explore the waterways of
Cambridgeshire and Ely and look at the Fens through Alicia's eyes. 

Alicia has been painting since the age of fifteen. She was raised on the Polish border with Lithuania on
her parent’s farm, and has lived in Cambridge, UK for the past ten years, Alicia grew up
surrounded by nature and still draws her inspiration from the landscape, water and light. 

Her paintings capture the natural beauty of the meadows and water around the village of Grantchester, where she lives.  She is endlessly fascinated by the light, trees, big skies and the River
Cam, the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England.

Ideal Home magazine described Alicia’s work 'as vibrant paintings that provide splashes of colour and
texture in neutral schemes'.

In episode 1 of the Great Canal Journeys, Alicia teaches Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth
how to paint The Fens near Ely with acrylic on canvas, giving her new students hints on her secret techniques. 
​
Tune in on Channel 4, More 4 on Wednesday 25th August at 9 pm to watch the full episode.

Deciding on the right curtains can be a valuable piece that transcends the feel of a room. But many times, it can go very wrong. AZ Interiors realise that many people face a struggle in finding curtains and blinds that suit their living space. Picking the ideal curtains & blinds can be a headache at times as people take into considerations many different variables. This can include the light intensity, fabrics, lining and how the curtains impact the atmosphere in a traditional or contemporary looking room just to name a few.
Additionally, all of us know, especially those who have gone through the process of finding good curtains that are made to measure can be cost intensive to invest in. Therefore, if you curtains are delivered with an unsuitable fabric type, if the look of the curtains have a feel you don’t want in your room or the light intensity let in by your curtains isn’t at your desired level, you cannot return it as they have been custom made for you and that can be an irritation experience and financial burden to carry with you.
Natural light is also a critical factor in making an alluring living space. However, because people believe they do not need any assistance in asserting an atmosphere through their curtains and blinds, they spend inappropriate sums of money to make an atmosphere they think they want, when seeking professional guidance from expert designers could have been something that saved the hundreds if not thousands of pounds, but never considered it as a liable option.
Alicia from AZ Interiors noticed people struggling in this complex sector of interior design and started providing a bespoke curtains & blinds service which measures, makes and installs the quintessential curtains and blinds for her costumers.
What distinguishes the assistance received by Alicia’s costumers in the customising of curtains and blinds in comparison to other designers that provide a similar service is Alicia’s attentiveness to the effect curtain’s appearance throughout a room. This includes the light that is allowed to enter when they are closed, complementing materials and shades with furniture pieces already in the room. Alicia will also come with fabric samples during the start of the customisation process to get a rough idea of the foundations of the look and feel expressed by the appearance of the blinds or curtains. This is what Alicia prefers to keep her focused on instead of exclusively paying attention to the fit with the window itself which has considerable downsides. However, this still means the curtains and blinds are made and installed at a premium level of fabric quality and professional making.
We are also proud to announce that we are partnering with Cambridge Upholsters who are located on 46 Mill Road in Cambridge. This is causing a sizeable improvement to the way we carry out our service. You are welcome to visit the Cambridge Upholsters workshop on Mill Road, view our display samples of fabrics and curtain tracks. You can see the quality of materials used in our bespoke curtains & blinds service if you wish to book an appointment with Alicia and begin the journey to make any room that much more elegant. If you would like to do so, please contact us through our e-mail. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Our email: [email protected]

One of AZ Interiors, Cambridge current jobs is designing an office space for Cambridge Intelligence,  a company who help organisations uncover new insights into their connected data. Using applications built with KeyLines they offer new ways to join the dots in an organisations data and uncover valuable buried insights. ​

KeyLines, en inspiration for large, contemporary artworks.

Made to measure sofas and seating strengthens the bespoke feel about the interior.  Foldable and movable tables make the space adaptable to different needs. 

Clever aspects where design meets function have been used. A  wall of chairs is both a design feature and functional; having the option to take down the chairs,  use when required and returned to optimise space and style. 

AZ Interiors has used the blue from the company logo and then introduced other natural colours and materials such as greens and plywood panelling. Inspired by nature, it adds an eco friendly and warm feeling to the environment. She has a large vertical garden as a feature wall, perfect for the lower level office with minimal light. The moss wall does not like sunlight nor does it require watering so the perfect fit for this space. A nod to nature and technology continues throughout the kitchen space with geometric natural wooden tiles

AZ Interiors has defined different areas of the space with the clever use of colour,  Bolon floor vinyl define different areas such as workspace, kitchen and chill out areas with a focal point in the room where presentations take place.  She has used large coloured perspex squares, suspended from the ceiling to define the reception entrance area giving depth and texture to this space.

They taken an uninspiring office space and transformed it into a heaven for inspiration,  creativity and productively to thrive. Who knows, with environments like this to work in Monday mornings might be a thing to look forward to from now on…...
​

The reason for this could be in part down to Hygge. Originally a Norwegian term for wellbeing, it was developed into a concept and way of living by the Danish in the 18th century and has been infiltrating the lives of Scandinavian countries ever since. ​
There is no direct translation in English, making it difficult to pinpoint its meaning. Some people describe it as “cosiness” or “togetherness” but its is more than these things, it is a mood or mental state, a concept, a way of life which can traverses all seasons. You can Hygge alone with a good book and coffee, or in the company of  loved ones sharing a meal. Even places and surroundings can be Hygge-like which demonstrates how far reaching this concept is.
​Hygge really comes alive in the winter months, and even in the coldest months when there is minimal daylight the Danes remain the happiest in the world. Here are a few tips:

Lighting
 One aspect of Hygge is creating a warm, inviting and  relaxing environment to be in. A very easy way of doing this is with candles, lighting is very important to the Danes, with them rumoured to be largest consumer of candles per capita in the world. Candles are an inexpensive way to transform your interior with their flickering glow giving a calm escape from the dreary winter outside. Scented candles add another dimension. Candles  with essential oils such as lavender and Eucalyptus and Ylang Ylang which can promote calm and relieve anxiety. ​

Happiness lamps, or a least thats my name for them are lamps that wake you up slowly and naturally with a light, as the sun would do as it rises. No more blaring alarm clock jolting you from sleep in the dark. You wake up naturally as the light increases, there is a backup sound that gets louder when the alarm is set. The sounds of a forest or birds chirping. I personally was convinced by my friend I needed one of these last winter, I was a sceptic when it came to buying into the whole Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), believing people had just coined another unnecessary term for the sake of it  but after my first full winter in Britain I knew better.
The Scandinavians have know this for a long time and have light therapy clinics, with some areas going so far as installing special UV lights at bus stops and other public places to treat SAD.

Don't Rush
To truly Hygge you have to slow down, sit and be in the moment while drinking your morning coffee, take time out to sit in the sun, savour in the pleasure of the long relaxed dinner with friends. A growing movement  around mindfulness is in keeping with the Hygge philosophy with practices such as yoga and meditation once seen as niche are now commonplace.  As indie band Frightened Rabbit wrote “turn off the TV, its killing us, we never speak” Be in the moment, relax with the people around you give them and yourself your full attention. ​

From the curb, it looks much like any other terrace in the row: tiled frontage, flat roof, square bay, gravel drive. But, home to artist-turned-interior designer Alicia Zimnickas, the similarities end the minute you open the door.
Eye drawn by the light, the first thing you see is a far wall of windows onto the garden. Filling the open-plan living space with shades of soft sky-grey and lush tree-green, even on a dull autumn day the effect is delightful.
You barely notice the long, narrow hallway, distracted both by the guiding light from the windows and a stretch of ingenious optical-illusion wallpaper. “That’s what good interior design is all about,” says Alicia. “It’s about taking a space and making the very most of it. . .
“I think that’s the biggest reward of design for me: seeing how you can change a space and, consequently, change the way people live and work within it. Improving a space can honestly improve people’s lives.”
Her Trumpington end of terrace, which dates from 1975, is a case in point. When she and her family moved in – she has two children, 14 and 12 – there was definite room for improvement. Despite the windowed back wall, the ground floor living space was blighted with black spots, namely in the entrance hall and stairwell. Widening a doorway, replacing balustrading with reinforced glass, adding a strategic skylight, and turning walls and woodwork white, worked wonders.
“Light is a big thing for me,” explains Alicia. “I have to have it. Some people crave the sea, some crave the mountains – I crave light.”
A professional artist, as well as an interior designer, Alicia’s studio is on the first floor and her paintings hang on many walls. Large abstract tree and leaf-scapes, they fairly glow with filtered sunlight. “It was an art critic, commenting on one of my exhibitions, that first made the connection with light; he said I painted with it. I’d never realised that before, but he was right.”
Raised on the Polish border with Lithuania, her parents farmers, Alicia grew up “in a very rural place, surrounded by nature. That’s probably why nature is such a big influence in my art; everything we experience in life is an influence.”
Her artistic talent recognised at school, Alicia left home at 15 to take up a place at art college in Lithuania. “My parents weren’t at all happy. I was a bright girl; for them, success meant being a doctor or a lawyer. But I was stubborn.”
The transition was a daunting one, nevertheless: “It was a big border to cross; this was a time when there were tanks on the streets of Lithuania. And I was only 15. Looking back, that seems so young. Yet I was determined never to complain.”
A place at Warsaw’s Academy of Fine Arts followed. Despite doing a post-grad in industrial product design, Alicia continued to paint prolifically and, over a 17-year career in Eastern Europe, found both critical acclaim and a fan following for her work. Among her proudest achievements was a solo show at Arka, the famed gallery in Vilnius.
Then, having married a Brit and had her two children, life brought Alicia to the UK and her second career, in interior design. After doing a course at Chelsea School of Art, she launched her own business, A Z Interiors, four years ago, and has been in demand ever since.
Offering everything from two-hour at-home consultations to whole-house refurbishments – she’s currently working on a £2.5 million renovation project in Oxford – Alicia says she draws inspiration from both the personality of the property (“Is it Victorian, from the Seventies, a new-build?”) and the personality of its owners (“How do they use the space? Do they like colour? And pattern?”).
Again, her own home is a calling card. The interiors scheme doffs its cap to the property’s Sixties/Seventies heritage – take the ochre, grey and green in the palette, the orange glass pendant shade above the master bed, the splay-legged retro dining chairs. But it’s full of Alicia too, from her artwork on the walls to oriental accessories; Japan is her “absolute favourite place”.
Working on corporate as well as domestic schemes, Alicia has just completed a communal office space for Cambridge Intelligence. The walls alone are a triumph, sectioned into tufty living moss tiles, 3D plywood art, and stacks of cute cubbyholes for stools. The office is housed in a windowless basement. From the photos, you’d never know.
Storage is key to a successful interior, adds Alicia, opening a hidden door, camouflaged with wallpaper, to reveal her utility and coat room, and pulling open a plain-fronted kitchen cabinet, concealing the microwave and other sundries, which would otherwise be cluttering the counters.
“I absolutely love what I do,” she adds. “I have a great creative balance between designing interiors for other people and making art with complete freedom. The two go hand in hand, I think: there’s art in interior design, and art is often the finishing touch for a design, too.”
Though leaving Warsaw was an initial wrench, Alicia says Cambridge is now “very much home”. With the city centre mere minutes away, and lovely, leafy Trumpington Meadows behind her house, she’s in the perfect town-meets-country spot. “I live in a beautiful place and I’m able to make my living doing what I love: I think I’m very lucky.”
​

• A two-hour at-home consultation costs £190. For more information about AZ Interiors visit az-interiors.co.uk or call 07963 175508.

Alice Ryan
Senior Editor, Velvet Magazine