Creative Escape 2023

This year we invited our team on a magical creative escape to share their stories, connect together, relax and unwind. It’s rare for the team to leave the studio all together unless it’s for a team meal, workshop or our regular beer + idea nights so instead of our normal summer party we took a couple nights away to escape.

Some of the Studio Wood team by the 7 Acre lake

The idea is simple. We gather our team together, take them away from the studio for a couple nights and have them share their hearts and stories, encourage them to play, connect and enjoy. We don’t discuss work, we don’t sketch or CAD - instead we enjoy the outdoors, have wild open fires, jump in open water lakes and sauna together, ok not everyone wanted to sauna, but the thought was there.

So much of design consultancy life in a studio can be based around achieving; achieving great design, achieving deadlines, achieving development goals.. the list goes on so it is important to disconnect from this “achievement” cycle and enjoy life and experience nature together.

This year, on the 2nd of October we headed to 42 acres, a regenerative farm stay and retreat based just outside Frome. 42 acres not only has a 7 acre lake to enjoy but offers a walled garden, miles of walking trails and is conveniently located close to Windhill bike park. Our time away is designed to be intimate and magical. They always will be. We believe it builds a better studio community. As a team we enjoyed trail runs, mountain bike rides, open water swimming, kayaking, saunas and big meals together around a country kitchen table.

For our team, quality is not just about using the finest materials or designs but it is the philosophy behind everything we do; how we look after our people, how we look after our clients, how we conduct ourselves as people and ultimately how we do business on a finite planet. To design something that will be loved and evoke emotion is a rare skill and a privilege. Most things are discarded through failure to work over time or because people get bored of using them. ‘Timeless’ and ‘responsible’ design are two of our core studio values, we find time in nature really amplifies this philosophy, nothing is more timeless than nature. In a world that seems to value quantity over quality, we are hoping to instil in our team the value of creating meaningful memories that will last for years to come. We hope that this time away to disconnect, unwind and enjoy did exactly that.

Diversity + Innovation #6

Women + Innovation #5