Episode 357: Sara Thompson

Million Dollar Decorating

Thompson Clarke Interiors is headed up by Sara Thompson and Lindy Clarke and is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Sara travels the globe to source furniture and objets d'art for her clients and has recently visited Australia (she was there for Christmas 2016), Marrakech and Milan, picking up treasures for her clients and plenty of inspiration along the way. The Thompson Clarke style can best be described as ‘ timeless' and projects range from manor houses in the Northern Irish hills to modern townhouses in central Dublin. Before starting Thompson Clarke Interiors with Lindy, Sara worked in art and antiques. "All my adult life I have collected art. I studied art in school and I went to Camberwell Art College followed by Edinburgh University to study history of art. My first job was in Dublin at Adams’ auction house, and I went on to do another degree in new art valuation,” Sara explains . “I fell in love with antique furniture and collectibles – anything that someone in the past mulled over and laboured over which is so different to the furniture that you just clip together today. It took Sara a while to realise interior design was her calling - she fondly recalls asking her Mum if she could change her room around, school holiday after school holiday, and was always 'playing houses' with her sisters. She spent most of her free time painting and drawing at school and when it came to Christmas Sara was always in charge of decorating the whole house, and became obsessesd with every detail. She remembers her real calling was when she finished history of Art at Edinburgh and started her first job at Adam’s Auctioneers in Dublin. She was in her element, surrounded by painters, dealers, beautifully made objects and valuers who couldn’t wait to share their knowledge. “For the last 20 years I have been building a collection of antiques and art that I love, especially by Northern Irish artists like Conor Fleck.” It was through their mutual love of art that Sara met Lindy, 5 years ago . “I was working in a gallery and I used my first paycheque to buy a painting from Northern Irish painter Emma Connolly’s first collection. I hadn’t met Lindy before but she walked in and bought another painting from the collection; there were only four pieces in the collection and the other two went to Queen’s University and the Arts Council. So we laugh about it today but it was because of those paintings that we clicked and ended up going into business together.” Annually Sara and her team of 4 visit the trade shows in Milan, London and Paris where they often invite clients to accompany them - Sara believes that getting to know her clients on a more personal level really helps to inspire ideas for their homes. (James, see the attached brochure on how the company approaches client projects) Sara lives just outside Belfast in a town called Holywood, in a beautiful country manor house, which she built and interior designed from scratch. She and her husband, Scott, have three young children. Visit Sara's Website here