Theresa Dowling needs no introduction. Having been FX’s editor for 19 years, she is not only the longest-serving editor in its history, but a figurehead who has brought together some of the biggest names in architecture and design for debate, celebrations and friendship. Her passion for the design industry, love of art, entrepreneurial spirit, wit, determination, and interest in all things horses have captured the minds and hearts of the dozens of people she meets every week; not to mention the hundreds that pack out the Grosvenor, for one night every year, at the FX Awards. Here we celebrate Dowling’s successful editorship of a magazine she describes as being her dream job.
Many will know that Dowling came from a fine art background. Today she remains a regular user of her art studio in south London, often visiting before the workday begins. An alumnus from leading institutes Hornsey Art School, Manchester Art School, and School of the Art Institute of Chicago, her art education forms the foundations of her career. A contrary to what graduate Theresa Dowling would have believed when first seeking work.
‘I was a no-hoper!’ she recalls. ‘Whilst successful at making art splodges, I could not get a job for love nor money. Really, I tried everything and failed, whilst watching my friends get on the graduate pathway and other such corporate initiatives. I was numerate and literate but couldn’t get a job. I had no commercial skills – not even typing, which was essential for women in the 1980s. And I looked an absolute fright, dressing in charity shop clothes, which might be trendy now but was a howler in the ’80s fashion era of power dressing.’
She landed her first office assistant role with the Hille empire, as it was, reporting to Cherrill Scheer. Little did she know at the time that that would set her on course for greater things, including gaining a lifelong industry friend. ‘Even today, there are so many people with talent and not enough opportunities,’ notes Dowling. ‘Really all you need at this intersection is someone to believe in you. Anyone. And Cherrill Scheer of the Hille dynasty did. She gave me a temporary job that lasted ten years and arranged the hours so that I could continue painting. She became a lifelong friend and mentor.’
Finding her footing in the ‘business of design’, Dowling recalls the very early days of FX as a ‘formidable force’ from the outset, describing its launch as a pivotal moment in trade publishing that brought the industry alive with colourful pages, inventive journalism and by championing good design.
Meanwhile, having been to the many other industry awards nights, Dowling decided that FX’s very own awards would break the mould, and a glitzy celebration of the best design talent was launched at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, London, that dominated the calendar for many.
‘Awards were very blokey in those days and very dealership-orientated,’ says Dowling. ‘If I’ve achieved anything with FX I’d like to think that I’ve steered it away from a pub-based party to a more professional party for architects and designers. But there’s still a lot of pubbased drinking! Only this time it’s much more gender-balanced.’
One of her career highlights was launching FX Talks in 2018. Tasked with creating ‘a dull, corporate FX conference’, Dowling opted, instead, for a hand-picked selection of speakers, all from outside the industry, to deliver a TED-style talk on their take on radical thinking. An evening saw TV presenter Tom Dyckhoff share the stage with innovators including inventors, engineers, broadcasters and a horse whisperer among others.
‘Ever since I was tiny, I loved horses,’ adds Dowling, who describes a lifelong ‘obsession’ with them. ‘Both art and horses have been major influences on my work with FX. When you have such driving forces in the background it’s hard to see how they cannot influence your attitude to all things FX. [Horse whisperer] Monty Roberts was a game-changer for radical thinking at the FX Talks, and art and exhibitions are a regular discussion point with architects and designers. So I’m not sure if I’m more cultural or agricultural!’
Dowling describes art as a revelation and discipline. In some of her busiest, and most stressful moments with FX she would challenge herself to 30-second drawings of anything – around the house, at the bus stop, in meetings or in the office – with that being the perfect antidote.
‘It was, and will always be, my dream job,’ reflects Dowling. ‘I feel I’m born and bred into this industry of contract design, and I love the colourful characters. I’ve met some lifelong friends along the way who have been inspirational and looked after me when things are dark. We all need friends like these. And I’m lucky enough to have met them through FX. So I’ll still be in the industry – just popping up with a different hat on.’
