Patrick Knowles Tapped to Judge 2013 Showboats Awards

Fort Lauderdale-based yacht interior designer, and friend of Denison yacht Sales, Patrick Knowles has gained a worldwide reputation for creating one-of-a-kind interiors for some of the most luxurious yachts. The yacht interior design work created by his company is varied, and recent projects have included Trinity Yachts’ 164′ M/Y Lady Sura and the 190′ M/Y Mi Sueno, delivered in 2012 and 2010 respectively.

Knowles has worked as a yacht and aircraft interior designer for nearly 30 years. He was recently selected as a judge for the 2013 ShowBoats Design Awards, an international superyacht competition that takes place in Monaco June 21.

Friday, the Sun Sentinel sat down with Knowles, 48, at his design studio at 2030 N.E. 18 St. to talk about his career, industry trends and how business is faring post-recession.

The responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Tell us something about your background? I grew up in the Bahamas as the ninth of 10 siblings. I came to the U.S. at age 17 to go to college, and I’ve been in Fort Lauderdale since. I have a design degree from the Art Institute in Fort Lauderdale.

How did you get into yacht design? I always knew I wanted to do something with design, as I had an affinity for creating things but actually wanted to be a pilot first. My mom discouraged that idea after my older brother was in a plane crash but luckily survived. I started working in the marine and aviation industries about the same time, first designing aircraft for private, VIP and head-of-state customers. In 1993, I became a partner in a yacht interior design firm Merritt Knowles Designs, and in 1999, I launched Patrick Knowles Designs.

How has the yacht design business been? It’s been an amazing journey. In 2000 business really took off, and through 2008 we were designing 9 to 11 yachts on average at any given time, with some projects lasting four to five years and others overlapping. Today we’re designing about 3 yachts on average, but our business has diversified, and we’re doing work in residences in New York, Key Largo (Ocean Reef), the Bahamas and London for our yacht clients. While yacht projects have subsided a little, those same clients have increased their land-based projects. Now there’s a rebound in the yacht design market and we’re seeing an increase in business from not only American yacht owners but also owners in Europe and the Middle East.

Who are your yacht customers? The lion share is American.

Do you have a particular style of yacht interior designing? No, I’m always challenged by creating something different. I want the design to be different for everyone. I want to know how the person lives, what they like so I can incorporate these personal touches in the yacht design.

Who do you normally work for? We work for the yacht owners directly. We design for them and represent them at the shipyard to make sure the design is being implemented as specified, and we’re onboard consistently throughout its building . Aside from yacht interiors, we also work on the “exterior styling,” which is the design of how the vessel looks as it sits on the water.

Do yacht clients visit the Fort Lauderdale design studio? Yes, we host them in our conference room, which has a portfolio of the work we’ve done on display, and we can go over designs and drawings there with them.

Tell me about a current yacht project? I’m working on a 160-foot Feadship yacht at Rybovich Shipyard in West Palm Beach for a foreign national. It’s a classically styled motoryacht from the 1980s that the owner is revitalizing to bring it up-to-date with modern technologies while retaining the classic and timeless elegance of its heritage.

Do you work with local companies to source design materials? Yes. We’ve worked with products in our designs that have been made by Fort Lauderdale companies or by local artists and craftsmen. We’ve also sourced items from suppliers at DCOTA, the Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach.

What’s the best part of your job? It’s gratifying to see the reactions of an owner when you’ve been able to create an environment that primarily existed in someone’s mind and then meet or exceed their expectations.

What’s the average cost of your yacht design projects? It’s a seven-figure endeavor. On average we work on yachts that have a total delivery cost of $30 million to more than $60 million.

What’s new with the business? We’re venturing into product design, for example, designing china, furnishings and lighting, etc. I also manage Turner Bay, a high-end store that sells fine home accessories, china, lighting and linens that I co-founded in 2002 with my late wife Sheila, who passed away last year of breast cancer. We met shortly after I graduated from design school and were married 26 years. In April I relocated the shop from North Federal Highway into a space adjacent to my Fort Lauderdale design studio to consolidate operations. It’s proven to be a smart move as we can now easily show yacht customers the products in the store, which can be used in the designs of their yacht, aircraft or homes.

Source: Arlene Satchell (Sun Sentinel)