A little background

A little bit about me

Welcome. I am Vikki Fox, and I hope you will find my website inspiring, uplifting and refreshing. It is designed and written by me, not a marketing company or some robot AI.

I formed Ziboh Interiors Ltd in 1993, having started my interior design career three years previous. My passion for interiors is shared with making ceramics, working from my own pottery studio in Ventnor. I enjoy drawing, playing drums and photography too – a few of my photos can be found on this website.

So long as I am working with my hands, I am happy!

In 2019 – before anyone had even heard of Covid – my husband and I made the decision to move to the Isle of Wight. We adore the Island with its breathtaking coastline and stunning countryside. It’s an honour to have red squirrels living in our garden, to be able to see buzzards soaring over our house and hear the crash of waves on the shore. This beautiful island is certainly a tonic for the soul. We love the calmer pace of life here and are heartened to see how much people have time for each other. Ventnor is an absolute treat as it’s such a friendly place – arty but real.

Ziboh’s journey to sustainable design

Over the years I’ve grown uncomfortable being part of an industry that is generally wasteful and disrespectful of our planet. Glossy interior design magazines and TV programmes continually entice us to chuck things out and keep up with fashion.

I no longer wanted to be an interior designer blindly offering clients things based on look and price alone, with no consideration of sustainability.

So, when we moved to the Island, I made the decision to change the way I worked. Interiors that I design for clients are now as sustainable and as socially responsible as I can make them.

I want clients to think carefully about their purchases, even if that means not making a purchase!

The combined Carbon Footprint for Ziboh Interiors and our home is shown below. At 7.9 tonnes, it’s well below the UK average, but higher than the world average. However, there is only so far one can go to reduce a carbon footprint. Certain aspects are out of our control, like policies set by our government. When UK laws and policies are changed, all of our carbon footprints are affected. I will continue to recalculate our carbon footprint, as and when we make changes.

Does this strike a chord with you?

If you’ve read this far, I hope you feel a connection with what I have said.

I would love to help you create a beautiful interior that is sustainable, using products that don’t pollute, don’t consume excessive energy, don’t create avoidable waste, and are ethically sourced.

I have an unpretentious and down-to-earth but friendly way of dealing with people. With a strong belief that an interior has to be about the customer, not me, I don’t impose a ‘house-style’ upon people.

I’m not looking for hundreds of clients; I just want to work with a very small number of people who have a similar outlook as me. People who take time to think about what they buy and how they lead their lives. I’m not talking about eco warriors, but everyday people who want to do something – even if small – towards protecting our irreplaceable planet.

I refrain from taking on multiple projects at a time, so that I can spend the right amount of time working with a client. I genuinely want each client to feel important because, to me, they are exactly that. This means you can be assured of reliability with a strong focus on detail.

Let’s chat and see what comes of it.

My personal eco journey

In our household, where Ziboh Interiors is also based, we have made a number of changes to reduce our carbon footprint. We have gone over to using refills and zero-waste products, we don’t holiday abroad, we have switched to ethical banks, we have changed vehicles, and we shop local in preference to large multi-chain shops.

We don’t have a holier than thou attitude, so never preach to others. We also fully accept that we are far from perfect in what we do – it’s probably impossible to be absolutely perfect – but we do what we can. We will continue to make changes, because a little-by-little approach is easier to achieve.

Our belief is that if everyone can make just a few small changes, the knock-on effect would be tremendous.

So, why the name ZIBOH?

The word ‘Ziboh’ (written زیبا in the Persian language, Fasi), translates as “something that is very beautiful, like nature or artwork”.

I wanted a name that was unusual and as Persia (now modern-day Iran) has an extensive history of rich and beautiful ornament and architecture, the word Ziboh connected perfectly with interior design.

I spent a few weeks in Iran in the early 2000s. I loved the vast and beautiful countryside, the spectacular mosques and Islamic architecture. It’s a fascinating place with a rich and vibrant history. The people are warm, welcoming and naturally friendly. It is tragic how badly they are now being treated by the current regime.