After completing her studies at Bedford College, Ilse worked at an architectural firm and the Architects Journal before launching Elle Decoration as managing editor. She left the magazine in 1998 to work with Donna Karan, where she helped launch DKNY and Donna Karan Home. At the same time, she began working on setting up her own studio and in 2001 Studioilse was launched in London.

Studioilse uses approaches that help ensure a long-lasting and charismatic brand. The studio combines empirical research with human experience and always bases its work on the client’s brief to create designs that meet our human needs. Studioilse defines the brand experience by building worlds around rituals, rhythms and routines that engage communities and create new realities. Studioilse designs interiors and objects that speak to all our senses, that have a soul and create a strong authentic identity - one that can be imitated but never matched. The studio uses multidisciplinary manufacturing processes to achieve this vision through creativity, design strategy, architecture and communication.

Ilse Crawford is committed not only to design but also to academia. As the founder of ADKAS at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Ilse aims to challenge the new generation of students to question where and how their work enhances life.