Richard Hamel Cooke

Graduating from the University of Oxford in 1979, Richard Hamel Cooke worked for the Oxford College Barge Preservation Trust and then for the Save Venice Foundation in the historical naval museum in Venice, Italy. In 1984, he was appointed the official journalist for the HEART expedition to Mount Everest, a charitable venture to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. In 1985–86 he studied for a double diploma course at the University of Aix-Marseille III, specialising in French literature and civilisation, before studying for a further diploma at l'École Supérieure de Peinture in Brussels, Belgium, specialising in trompe l'œil and decorative art techniques. In 1990, Richard Hamel Cooke created his first design company, Paintworks Partnership, which evolved into The Oxford Interior Design Company, working in France and the UK designing, renovating, decorating and furnishing historic properties, which included a design project for New College, Oxford, as well as film location direction and art consultancy for the cinema.