046 DESIGNER FILE


guests comfortable so that they want to continue to use the hotel. The concept will be very much focused around the food and beverage programming, which becomes an integral part of the success of the operation rather than just an afterthought.


4 Prioritise the strategy


Every job starts with a lot of brand strategy work to create the brand narrative. Te more projects we’ve done, the more we’ve realised the value of the strategic part of the process, and the importance of getting this right at the very beginning. Once the narrative is defined, the way forward on the interior design itself becomes clear very quickly.


5 You can’t design in a silo You only get the best design, the best


creativity, if you’re working together in the studio, bouncing ideas off each other and reviewing material samples – and that’s something you can’t get over Zoom. It’s collective thinking that makes design successful. It’s very important that there’s a sense of togetherness in the studio culture. We’re all in the office from Tuesday to Tursday, and then on Fridays we take a few hours to share so that everyone can understand what each person, and the company as a whole, is doing. Tis works very well. We’ve tried to create a collective mindset that hopefully makes 3Stories unique.


6 I love the buzz of starting a new project Personally, the thing I get most excited about is when there’s a blank page with a completely open direction for the design.


I find it exhilarating – the research, the fact- finding – even though it’s quite scary to start with nothing and know you have to create something.


My time working as a photographer,


when you start the day’s shoot with nothing, taught me how to handle this with confidence. Once you get beyond the anxiety and stress, you just have to let it happen and let it flow, and it’s similar with the creative process for design. You can’t beat yourself up about not getting the concept straight away. Instead, you have to have faith in the process, and know through experience that you’ll get there.


It’s important to make sure you have enough time at the beginning to have fun and explore. Tat’s when you get the best out of people.


ALL IMAGES: GARETH GARDNER


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