Diversity + Innovation #6

The speakers from the night

On Tuesday, 16th January 2024, Studio Wood teamed up with Brompton Bicycles to host the sixth event in the series, this time aimed at Diversity + Innovation. The event took place at the inspiring Brompton HQ in Greenford and welcomed professionals from the creative industry to engage in an evening of insightful discussions.

This time, we had the privilege of hosting a varied mix of speakers to our panel: James, the Creative Director and Founder of Studio Wood; Josefa, the Senior Software Quality Engineer at Brompton; Kate , the Founder of Evenly; and Navjot, the Founder of The Washing Machine Project.

The evening started for the attendees with drinks and nibbles supplied by Bournemouth’s infamous Kara’s Vegan Supper Club served above the impressive Brompton manufacturing and assembly line. It was refreshing to see old and new faces join us at this event from consultancies and in-house teams including; Kenwood, Polaroid, Kingfisher, Icandy, Haekles, SharkNinja, Chilly’s, Mettle, Pipsqueak, Batch.works, Morrama and Layer.

At 7pm, everyone was led into the Brompton cafeteria for the main event. Each speaker then shared their unique career journey, offering valuable advice and tips. Once again, the demand for this event was overwhelming, as tickets "sold out" (although attendance was free) within just 24 hours of going live. We were delighted to see such a diverse range of attendees and were truly humbled by the positive feedback we received. This series of events are free and available on a first come, first served basis. The events themselves are an initiative set up by Sophie here at Studio Wood, which aim to inspire more diversity into the creative industries. Our intention is to create an inclusive space where open discussions thrive, enabling attendees to freely ask questions and gain insights from the panel.

The speakers being introduced ahead of panel questions from the audience.

Sophie kicked off the night with a brief introduction, highlighting her personal connections or how she came to meet the speakers and the reasons behind their selection. We hope to shine a light on unconventional and inspiring stories, sharing the journeys of speakers who have really different backgrounds and experiences leading them into the sector.

First on the agenda was Studio Wood’s very own, James, who captivated the audience with his account of growing up on benefits, being from a low socio economic background and finding it hard to connect with others with a similar background in the design industry. James spoke openly about being passionate about mentoring young up and coming designers/graduates from similar backgrounds (one mentee who recently got their first job in the industry was in the audience.) James also spoke about working with Brad from The Design Truth on The Internship Pledge which asks business to sign up to ensure they pay interns the living wage. This was after detailing his account of sleeping on a mattress on the floor above the design studio whilst doing a free internship for a globally renowned studio.

James’s passion for inclusive design, accessible to everyone, reminded us of the importance of creating everyday products that cater to all individuals, rather than focusing solely on luxury or expensive items. He finished his talk with an image of a product that he had designed for Joseph Joseph (the compact cutlery organiser) which was intended to be used by customers with small kitchens or limited cupboard space which has since sold in its millions and earned an impressive 133,419 x 4.6* star amazon review.

James (Studio Wood) our first speaker of the night

James (Studio Wood) speaking about his early years growing up

Kate, Founder of Evenly took the stage next. Not only was Kate a stand in for the event with less than 24 hours notice after one of the original speakers was ill but she also moved some of the audience almost to tears with her story of how Evenly came to light. Her career pivot from IT into entrepreneurship has not come without its challenges as she explained in her talk. Kate described how years of development to make a product to help women with a very common problem - breast asymmetry had nearly broken her and caused her to run out of money but with a little bit of luck and a lot of determination she is now the proud founder of Evenly - helping 1000’s of women around the world with her initial product and looking for license partners for her patented product which she developed from scratch.

Kate’s enthusiasm for helping women is contagious and after her talk she was surrounded with lots of women in the room. Kate was a past Women + Innovation award winner (Innovate UK) who won £50,000 to develop her product and she has been featured in various press articles. We are very grateful she was able to step in and inspire the room on the night.

Kate (Evenly) our second speaker of the night

Josefa, Brompton’s Senior Software Quality Engineer was our third speaker. When our team first started speaking with Brompton about organising the event, we asked for someone from the company to be part of the panel and everyone instantly suggested Josefa. Josefa spoke about her upbringing in Venezuela and how she had worked in a number of countries including Spain and the UK learning English on the go as she could. She spoke candidly about her rollercoaster career, including moving countries for job opportunities, facing heartbreak in the UK, doing yet more unpaid internships for well known global brands before landing her dream job at Brompton. Josefa’s current role at Brompton is everything she could hope for and she said how much she enjoyed it.

Josefa (Brompton Bicycles)

Last but not least, Nav, the Founder of The Washing Machine Project, took to the stage. Nav had been on Sophie's radar as a potential speaker for a while now after being introduced to him by her partner who worked alongside him at Dyson in the past. Nav spoke with a cadence unlike others normally do which instantly relaxed the room and sent everyone into a sort of “rhythmic state.”

Nav spoke about his past corporate design career and how a trip to India gave him a sudden change of heart when he met his neighbour, Divya (who would later inspire The Washing Machine Project.) Nav emphasised the importance of collaboration, doing what feels right in your gut, and taking risks when looking at personal development. Nav shared a heartwarming video which outlined the vision behind The Washing Machine Project which is by providing displaced and low-income communities with an accessible, off-grid washing solution, our mission is to empower women with the time to take charge of their lives. “When women rise, we all rise. Let’s Engineer a more sustainable future.”

Navjot (The Washing Machine Project) our final speaker

The feedback we have received after the Brompton event reflected the impact of the speakers' stories. Attendees left feeling inspired and hopeful with a new found enthusiasm to be connected to people from the industry that in the past they may not have been interested by.

Following the speakers' individual presentations, we took a 30 minute break back out by the bar where everyone got to mingle and meet new people. Some of the attendees (including Sophie) had a quick ride around the mezzanine on the super lightweight Titanium Brompton (T-Line) which was on display.

We then returned to the cafeteria for the panel discussion, where we explored key learnings from the past events, including the significance of taking risks, trusting one's instincts, and embracing failure. Sophie also shared the Studio’s recommended reading list for the past quarter, as well as some noteworthy podcasts. The panel then eagerly answered questions from the engaged attendees which included talking about unpaid internships in more detail and The Washing Machine Projects potential next projects.

Our panel discussion

Some of the audience enjoying the panel discussion

Once again, we are so grateful for the support and feedback this event series has gained. With a special thanks to the Brompton team who opened up their HQ to us and supported the event from the get-go. We cannot thank our speakers enough for sharing their stories, answering difficult questions, and openly discussing the challenges they have faced.

From left to right: Josefa, James, Navjot and Kate (our speakers)

Special thanks goes to the Brompton Team who helped us organise the event - Kaz, Kitty, Josh and Simona, as well as the Studio Wood team, including Hayley, Celine and Bret. Kara’s Vegan Supper club for the amazing brownies (and food) and a massive thank you to Michael O'Driscoll (Aetha) and Sam Hackett (Brompton) for capturing the night beautifully through their photography.

While we do not disclose the guest list, we had the pleasure of hosting a diverse range of professionals in the room, including designers, creatives, product managers, founders and entrepreneurs. If you wish to stay connected or secure tickets for our upcoming events, be sure to follow us on the Studiowood Instagram or LinkedIn, as we announce them there first. If you sign up to “stay in the loop” on our website we will also pop you a note when we are due to announce the next tickets.