1. PLUM DESIGN 624 N. West Knoll Drive West Hollywood, CA 90069 W www.plumdesignwest.com E lisa@plumdesignwest.com
105 Cecil Street #06-01 The Octagon Singapore 069534 W www.plumdesign.com.sg E lisa@plumdesign.com.sg

2. “ I love
days like “
ALILA DIWA, GOA, INDIA
tomorrow.”
New travel is like living your own movie. I go
looking for inspiration and patterns.
”
You become a collector of images and ideas.
It was an off-hand comment to a friend, but sometimes the truest
things are said by accident. For if you look closely, you’ll see that
Lisa Garriss has fashioned a successful career out of the ongoing
search for the perfect day.
While some might see her career as the result of an uncanny
string of good luck, closer inspection suggests Lisa’s work life is
the product of a restless spirit, and the quest for the people and
places that will challenge it.
By blending good luck and good management, Lisa has managed
to work alongside many who squeeze the juice out of each day
– in places that are truly bountiful. Now four years into her own
venture Plum Design, Lisa is again seeking out inspirational
locations and partners – eager to work with those as charged by
travel and the texture of life as she is.
FOUR SEASONS JIMBARAN BAY, BALI - TERRACE BAR & LOUNGE ALILA DIWA, GOA, INDIA

3. PADMA RESORT, BALI
“ One of my mentors told me,“100 percent
of the time, if a client iswilling to take the risk
and go for it with something they’re a little
uncomfortable with, they have always
”
come back and thanked me later.”
PADMA RESORT, BALI
Process
Ask her about her work, and the first things Lisa Garriss will tell you
about is her love of process – followed closely by the importance
of place. Look over her work resume, and it is soon apparent how
those themes arose.
Place
Through working on The W, and later on a collection of spaces
Having completed her degree at New York’s noted Parsons School
for Lidia’s Restaurant, Lisa discovered that she enjoyed the artistry
of Design, Lisa was thrust into the world of high-end corporate
and creativity of hospitality and restaurants – at a time when the
interior design with Kohn Pederson Fox Conway, then later with
industry was rediscovering its lavish, more playful face.
Gensler. These formative years were among Lisa’s most rewarding,
offering her the chance to cut her teeth on some of the world’s finest From the need for process to the importance of place, Lisa soon
corporate real estate. felt an urge to seek inspiration further afield. Who could get further
away than Calcutta India, and a project for Singapore’s Kerry Hill
But for an interior designer with a taste for the dramatic, things
Architects, working on the Sheraton Calcutta, a property that still
were about to get even hotter. Lisa’s entry into the Rockwell Group
turns heads today.
came as the visionary architect was set to unveil what would
become a landmark for interior design and the hospitality field. Next up, at Wilson and Associates, the Le Telfair Resort saw her
By working on the first W Hotel in New York, Lisa was not only on location in Mauritius, while in the Lion City, visible projects
learning fast about the outer limits of hotels – but also how a clear followed for Changi’s Terminal 3 and the new National Library
vision could make the difference to an interior space. of Singapore building. Later, Lisa had the chance to live out a
personal dream, as an adviser on materials and finishes for
“He taught me about having a clear concept running through a
Armani Hotels in Milan, including the rare opportunity to work
project from beginning to end, and that you can’t skip the process
personally alongside Giorgio Armani himself.
of coming up with a concept” says Garriss. Risky at first, the W
Hotel would be Lisa’s most public project to date. “When I walked Returning from Italy inspired once again, it was clear to Lisa that
in a month after it opened to see 300 urbanites sipping martinis she was ready for the next chapter of her career. The process was
in the lobby, I realised in a split second that David Rockwell was a in place, the places had been discovered. It was time to fly on
genius. He’d seen something nobody else had.” her own.

4. “ I start each project with detailed concept
boards. That way I stay focused and inspired for
the duration of the project. It’s the most fun part
”
of what I do – but also the hardest.
Four years into running her own consultancy, Lisa could hardly
have asked for a better platter of assignments to help launch Plum
Design. Named after the derivation of plum meaning ‘a highly
desirable attainment’, a string of projects including both the Four
Seasons Jimbaran Bay and Padma Resort in Bali, Santosha Resort
and Residences in Costa Rica and Alila Hotel in Goa, India, could
hardly have lived up more to the name.
Lisa finds no shame in saying that she remains cautious with
applying a rigid trademark ‘style’ to each project, preferring
instead to construct intricate mood boards early on, as her constant
link to her surroundings and environment. Once again, inspiration
comes through process, and the visual story of each location.
“My style evolves around the inspiration I draw from each
place. I’m lucky that I’ve been working in very inspirational
places,” she says.
Whether it is luck, or the ongoing need for movement and new
ideas, one thing is sure for Lisa Garriss. Tomorrow looks great
FOUR SEASONS JIMBARAN BAY, BALI - TERRACE BAR & LOUNGE
from here.
A Plum Gorgeous Day.
FOUR SEASONS JIMBARAN BAY, BALI - GUEST ROOM
“ My plan for Plum is to try and remain small, and maintain a life that
allows me to travel and explore. Projects and places that inspire me, with really fabulous people.
”
The type of people that you ultimately become friends with.

5. Current Projects
ALILA HOTELS & RESORTS, goa india
FOUR SEASONS SAYAN, bali
PADMA RESORT, bali
SANTOSHA RESORT & RESIDENCE, costa rica
WHEELOCK PROPERTIES – ARDMORE 3, singapore
FOUR SEASONS JIMBARAN BAY, bali
KARMA RESORTS, bali, ko samui
ALILA DIWA, GOA, INDIA
“ While they’d never be
my sole business, restaurants
are some of the most creative
spaces you can do. They are
usually tightly-focused
projects, have a strong concept,
and the results can be both
”
moody and sexy.
LE TELFAIR GOLF & SPA RESORT, MAURITIUS
with Wilson & Associates
“ Allowing a designer the
room to move can initially be
a leap of faith for a client.”
says Lisa “ But I feel the true
rewards usually lie in leaving
”
your comfort zone.
Past Projects
LE TELFAIR SPA & GOLF RESORT, mauritius
ARMANI HOTELS, dubai and milan PADMA RESORT, BALI PADMA RESORT, BALI
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SINGAPORE, singapore
CHANGI TERMINAL 3, singapore
SONAR BANGLA SHERATON, calcutta, india
LA PRAIRIE COSMETICS, new york, new york
“W” HOTEL, new york, new york
LYDIA’S KANSAS CITY, kansas city, missouri
J.P. MORGAN, new york, new york
BANCO SANTANDER, miami, florida
UNION BANK OF SWITZERLAND, new york, new york
UNITED OVERSEAS BANK, singapore
CAPITAL CITIES/ABC, INC., new york, new york
PADMA RESORT, BALI
NEW OTANI GARDEN COURT CLUB, tokyo, japan