Interior design: "Made some groundbreaking yachts" - Interview with Design Unlimited
Uske Berndt
· 16.11.2024
Where do your ideas come from?
Mark Tucker: We look around in many areas and it's easy to find the trendy things. We just go to the trade fairs and take the creative input with us. And we have people like Sophie and Victoria who look for craftspeople all over the world and then bring everything together. That's how we create a really cool, extraordinary interior. We design it and have it made, it's as simple as that. We've met some great people who are real craftsmen. And the owners enjoy the fact that they get something that is completely individual and that they won't see anywhere else. There is a story behind every piece of furniture, for example we had totem poles made for "Pink Shadow" in a small workshop in Portugal. It's great to have a customer who wants something like that.
Which customers do you prefer? The type: Mark, do what you want, or someone who says exactly what they want?
When we met the owner of "King Benji" (47 metre motor yacht) when we first met, he came to us because he liked one of our yachts and just wanted something different. We immediately understood what he was getting at. When an owner comes to us and isn't sure, we have a good process for getting what they want out of them. Then we can go on board a yacht, look around and pick up little things that he likes, talk to him a lot. That way we get to know his tastes and can adapt and fine-tune the design accordingly. That's part of our work.
Julie Tucker: It's good to have an owner who is involved, but we don't need to know everything about every detail ...
Mark Tucker: They usually come to us because they have seen our portfolio and find something they like, or because they have seen a boat we have built. Most of our orders come from recommendations. Many customers also come back to us. We have one for whom we have built six yachts. It's the best reward when he says: Let's do another project!
Like the owner of "Pink Gin VI" (now "Ravenger"). Is he heavily involved in the design, or do you get carte blanche?
We know roughly where he wants to go, we know what makes him tick. When we have our meetings, we are pretty well prepared. It always goes very quickly, like this: yes, no, no, yes, yes. We can tick boxes as we go along. I think we also knew with the owner of "King Benji": when we start, we go in all sorts of directions, but over time we get it right. We have to find the perfect way for the client, and that's exactly the skill of our studio.
What was your biggest project?
The refit of "Shemara", 65 metres long. But she didn't have the volume of "Pink Shadow". The cool thing about her is that although she is only 58 metres long, she is very voluminous - 1152 gross tonnes. I think it's easier to transfer this kind of styling to a motor yacht. It's more difficult on a sailing yacht because everything is much tighter, we have less room to manoeuvre. But a little more volume, height, glass - that helps a design to come alive.
More about superyachts:
Are sailing yachts generally more demanding?
I believe that many customers don't really dare to be bold when it comes to design. The owner of "Pink Gin VI" wanted to try something new. When we started, it was initially a further development of "Pink Gin V", almost the same thing. At the beginning, however, we drew up a sketchbook in which we also recorded another idea. A year later: I remember sitting in his flat in Berlin with all the designs in front of us, the whole shipyard was there, including the captain. And we were thinking about what to do now. Where was this leather-bound book with the concepts? Then the owner opened it and pointed to our new idea: "That's me. I've grown up, I want to do this now." So we started all over again, hallelujah! We went back to the studio and got to work.
Have you ever rejected a project?
No. We have had very demanding customers over the years. Some really get involved down to the smallest detail, for example where you keep your coffee spoons or where you put your cup. They are incredibly intense people and it can be a challenge to work for them. But we don't shy away from it because we learn so much - we learn what they're all about. It's about where to store things, how to hang things up, how to live on a yacht. We're lucky enough to be boat owners ourselves, we've spent all these years sailing and now we motorboat. I think that experience of being out there and using a boat feeds back into the studio.
Which yacht gave the starting signal for a typical Unlimited design in the style of Mark Tucker?
I don't think our studio has a particular style. We have done some ground-breaking yachts, but I don't think there is a Mark Tucker or Unlimited style. The other side of our work is the interior design for Sunseeker, including the new 156 - a real classic. With a job like this, we have to appeal to a very broad audience and take a much more considered approach to the design process. We have a wide range of skills in the studio and work closely with clients, whether it's a production build or a custom yacht, whether it's a superyacht, sailing yacht or motor yacht. Many of our clients keep their boats for a long time.
Do you prefer refits or new builds?
Both. But the most difficult thing is to convert a yacht that we have designed ourselves. We experienced this with "Pink Gin VI". We transformed this very eclectic boat into "Ravenger". The underlying design is still the same, but we have changed it simply by renewing some of the details such as the panelling or flooring. I like refits, we have just finished "Seawolf" at Pendennis, before that there was "Alicia". And "Mirage" - a beautiful, popular charter boat. When we take a yacht apart and discover the old interior under the bulkheads, it's really bizarre. You even find little notes that people have written on the walls and objects. Breathing new life into a yacht is really good.
You also design interiors for houses, for example for the owner of "King Benji". Is that new?
No, we've done a few, but we're not actively looking for house projects ...
Julie Tucker: We had this chateau many years ago.
Mark Tucker: That was very interesting, we rebuilt this castle in the middle of nowhere, a real challenge. Recently, we've been asked to take on properties more often. It always comes via a yacht, because the owners like what we do and have worked with our designers in the past. And then they say: You can do my house too. I think that's great.
Owners like to take dogs on board. Have you ever been asked to create something special for the animals?
Well, the owner of "Pink Shadow" has a Jack Russell called Otto. When we had the photo shoot there, we took a picture that hangs on the wall in our studio. You can see the parlour with the piano and chandelier. And it shows Otto looking round the corner. Incidentally, I'm not sure whether the crew really like having dogs on board.
You also have a dog ...
Yes, we also have a little Jack Russell Terrier, a Parson Russell to be precise. Oscar - he goes everywhere with us and we enjoy having him with us. The dogs bring their own personality to the boat, they bark at seagulls, they cause a bit of chaos. But I wouldn't say we do or design anything special for them.
Julie Tucker: But there are yachts with special dog areas ...
Mark Tucker: That's right. One of our friends is the captain of a 70-metre yacht and there's a dog that everything revolves around. He has a real lawn on one of the balconies and the crew have to take care of it when he's done his business. It always depends on how much the owner is really into their pets. I mean, we're terrible with ours, aren't we? Oscar enjoys the life of a "Lord Oscar".
Please tell us something about your team.
We currently have 15 people and do everything internally, we don't outsource anything. We have a strong mixed team working for us - the women are responsible for the fittings and styling, while the men create the complex 3D renderings on the computers. I myself came to Camper & Nicholsons from design college and learnt my trade there.
Do your daughter and son work with you?
Yes, for Julie and I it's fantastic that we can pass our studio on to our team and family. We talked about it at the beginning of this year and said: "Okay, we'll give ourselves five years and slowly start handing over control to the next generation.
Julie Tucker: We're getting old now ...
Mark Tucker: We have gained so much experience over the last few decades, which we are now passing on bit by bit. That's the right way to go. We could work until we're 80 - which we don't want to do - but that won't help our company and our team. It's the same in every company or shipyard we work with. Older people need to pass on their skills, they need to be able to hand over responsibility and not try to control everything until the end.
What would your dream yacht look like if you had the opportunity to let off steam completely?
I would definitely go down this route, opt for "King Benji" or "Pink Shadow", somewhere in between. It has to be cosy, homely and inviting. When we come on board, on holiday, we just want to fall onto the sofa. I believe that if we live on a ship for more than a few days, we need to be able to move around, go somewhere else, sit somewhere else, either alone or in company. Having places where we can move around is nice, and if we make it more eclectic, it works. A boat that only has one theme quickly becomes boring.
Julie Tucker: It has to be comfortable and practical. After all, you don't want to get on board and feel like you can't sit down. Nobody wants to worry about messing up the cushion arrangement. You have to be able to relax completely on board.
Do you prefer floral or beach style?
Mark Tucker: I like colours, but I also like the beach ...
Julie Tucker: Our boat is not very flowery, but it does have colour.
Mark Tucker: We have decorated it to be colourful, relaxed and casual. It's a standard motor yacht, but we've personalised it as much as possible. For me it's all about the water, I love being on the water. I'm very lucky that Julie loves it too. We've been sailing together now since we met 37 years ago ...
Julie Tucker: We got married 34 years ago!
Mark Tucker: Oh yes, that was a really long time ago. We were still sailing dinghies together until last year. We founded the studio together almost 25 years ago and are still married. That's a miracle.
