The world can sometimes seem a very small place, particularly when it comes to people like Candace Roberts, one of our new students.

Candace is from Trinidad and Tobago and good friends with another ex-Chippendale student from Trinidad and Tobago who graduated two years ago.

Candace grew up in the Caribbean and studied interior decorating at university in New York.

She then opened her own interior decorating and retail business in her home town of Port of Spain.

She was involved in everything from choosing furniture to soft furnishings, and from colour schemes to flooring and tiling.

She then moved to Edinburgh with her husband, who’s from Scotland.

A course at the Chippendale school seemed like a logical step, with all her qualifications and experience in other aspects of interior decorating.

She hopes to set up in business locally, making anything and everything from kitchens to fine furniture – but with a particular emphasis on furniture upcycling.

“It’s great to find an old and unloved piece of furniture and give it a new lease of life,” she says.