A tribute from the team at HASSELL on the passing of their colleague: an admired and much loved member of the Sydney design community

To those who knew her personally and professionally, and to many of you who were great friends with her, you would know that Di had been putting up a courageous fight against leukaemia for the last 16 months. On Tuesday 7 May, Di unfortunately lost that battle.

During her time at HASSELL, Di lent her extraordinary talent and patience to projects not just in Sydney, but around the world, including Bangkok and Greece. She demonstrated her unique talent through award winning projects such as Leo Burnett and PTTEP.

Her clients loved working with her and more often than not they became more than just clients, they became friends. Together with us will they will mourn the passing of this remarkable young woman.

Her most valuable and inspiring trait was her love for life. She attacked everything she did with gusto and a can do attitude. She bought to the Sydney interiors team and the Sydney studio this love for life. She embraced her work and the social aspects of the studio and the industry,  like she embraced everything in her life. In times of stress she was the one still with a smile on her face and trying to make others laugh. In fact her smile was one of the brightest I have ever seen. She was always at the centre of any fun, and at any social event she would be there to the bitter end; dancing, singing, drinking red wine and entertaining those around her. Di also loved the outdoors and when she wasn’t running marathons and participating in fundraising events for CanToo, she could be found either in the yoga studio or topping up her tan on Bondi beach.

We have lost a real bit of magic from not only HASSELL, but this world. Di had an amazing talent, an undeniable spirit and love for life, a personality that would light up a room, and in the last 16 months, an undeniable courage that allowed her to spend what precious time she could with her two little twin girls Luella and Saskia, that she and Josh had wanted so much.

She will be missed by all of us.

Matthew Blain Principal at HASSELL