'Interior Design Masters made me more confident'
BBC"You naturally lose that confidence as you get older and it's definitely ignited something in me."
Sophie Newlands, who runs Shag Interior in Cannock, has just finished as the runner-up on the BBC One reality competition series, Interior Design Masters.
The show features 10 amateur designers who compete for the chance to win a commercial contract.
Newlands, from Stoke-on-Trent, said the competition had been a "whirlwind" and that she had gained a lot of experience from the process.
"To put myself out there the way that I did, I've gained so much confidence," she told BBC Radio Stoke.
"And even just from the way I run my business, talk to my clients - everything has stepped up a level since that experience, so for me it's changed everything.
"It's not just made me a better designer, it's made me a better business owner."
Newlands made it all the way through to the final, where she was up against fellow competitor Lia Gold, who were both given the task of redesigning and decorating a holiday cottage inside the grounds of Longleat Safari Park.
In the moment of finding out she had come second, Newlands said: "It was a real mix - because I genuinely was so thrilled for Lia, we got really close and then had a really good friendship so I genuinely was so proud of her and so happy for her.
"But at the same time there is that crushing disappointment. But I was also proud of myself."
But the interior designer, who described her style as "rock & roll maximalist", noticed how the process was impacting her business before it had even aired on TV.
"From when we finished filming my business really picked up, which is mad because it hadn't even come out yet," she said.
"Which I think is a direct result of that confidence. I've just been super busy."
She is now pivoting the style of her business to be more aligned with her personal style, and said she was excited for the future.
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