Business Update
Many of us have experienced significant change over the last few years due to global events outside of anyone’s control, we’ve all had to adapt, review and reflect on how we conduct business. We had already entered a transition period prior to the emergence of Covid in the world.
Thankfully, this transition was due to happier reasons than a global pandemic, primarily to move closer to family and support my partner in pursuing a dream opportunity in Boston, Massachusetts. This was followed more recently with a return to Bath in the UK and the opportunity to put down both personal and professional roots close to my family.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that our connections to each other are incredibly important and that relationships can be created and sustained despite any geographical boundary. Our business has always been global, operating from various countries and collaborating or partnering with organisations and individuals around the world. As we enter this new phase with a rebrand to KILN in the UK, I look forward to continuing to be part of a global community as reflected by our recent projects in London, Sydney, New York, Los Angeles, Saudi Arabia, China, France and Kenya.
Hessian Design
Hessian Design was established in Sydney in 2017 and provided design consulting and architectural visualisation services to architects, interior designers and developers. We have worked on many incredible projects and with fantastic clients across a huge spectrum of building typologies.
I worked as a design architect for several years before establishing Hessian Design and have always maintained every intention of working on design projects alongside providing visualisation services. It is not always easy, and I’m sometimes acutely aware of the cost of not focusing on one or the other, but I have been fortunate enough to work as a designer on several projects over the years in Sydney, including several competitions with my old team at Grimshaw Sydney, and I love it.
K I L N
KILN was established in Boston in 2019 as a result of my partner being offered an incredible opportunity to pursue her dream of a PhD at MIT. We are both from Europe, so had been looking to move closer to our families already. One of the benefits of visualisation work is that it is predominantly remote in nature which has enabled me to continue working with Australian clients. I also established new client relationships in New York, Los Angeles and London. Despite the global turmoil around Covid 19, and a prolonged personal displacement, I feel very fortunate to have worked with some more incredible people on great projects in the US.
New York projects with Michaelis Boyd
I have continued to work on some fantastic design projects while in Boston. A house extension and complete renovation in Venice Beach, Los Angeles, where we handed over to local architect Appleton Partners for documentation and site supervision. We worked alongside Studio Lyon Szot on a complete gut renovation of a terrace house in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. Both projects have the additional bonus of allowing me to collaborate with my siblings Scarlett and India at Studio Hessian, who have continued to deliver the interior design and fit-out.
Next
The most recent move finds me back home in the UK, based in Bath with another new business entity and a technology startup on the side. My focus has been on consolidating the businesses and improving our internal systems, and IT structure which has resulted in the decision to close Hessian Design in Australia, KILN LLC in the US will go dormant while we run all of our accounts from the UK.
We’re preparing to move into an office space in Bath alongside another family venture Hessian Collective which will be a vintage furniture and homewares store in the Margaret Buildings, nestled between the Circus and Royal Crescent of Bath. We have some great long-standing clients in the UK already but hope to establish new relationships in the UK and Europe in the coming year. We intend to stay still for the immediate future, so we hope to focus on growing a small team in Bath and engaging with the local design community.
If you have any questions or just want to say hello, please do get in touch we would love to hear from you.
contact@kiln-studio.com
