Burtt-Jones & Brewer are reaping the rewards of creative thinking and excellent design practice, having combined the latest in online technology to produce the highest quality work for their clients, who include the BBC, Camelot, Culpeper and World Vision.
Founders Adam Burtt-Jones and Steve Brewer decided to set up the interior design company during the recession, because they saw 2010 as a huge opportunity to work in a different way, and made a conscious decision to harness the powers of the web to help develop a new way of working.
The interior designers have taken full advantage of the latest ‘cloud computing’, by creating a virtual working space where they collaborate with their team and clients. Meetings occur via Skype or through the teleconferencing facility Powwownow. Their team have access to a remote server provided by DropBox, which makes the ability to share working drawing files, CAD plans and other key information a doddle.
Burtt-Jones & Brewer also collaborate in ‘real time’ using Google Docs, where multiple editors can work on any document at the same time. Steve Brewer says: ‘It has been a real eye opener to discover what amazing (often free) technology is now available to help businesses like us start out. Maybe this is part of the future of how we will all work?’
Of course face-to-face meetings need to happen and these are often booked in at shared creative environments like the Hub in Bristol and London, Glove Factory in Holt, Coexist at Hamilton House or down at one of the local pubs.
‘Choosing to work in this way has meant we are able to keep our costs down, which is great, and it allows us to be able to focus all our time on creativity and provide solutions that our clients can afford and love,’ said Adam Burtt-Jones.
This flexible yet hugely collaborative way of working allows their growing team the freedom to work from wherever they choose; one team member is even based on her houseboat in London! This keeps the daily commute down to zero, which in turn is great news for Burtt-Jones & Brewer’s carbon footprint. Burtt-Jones & Brewer is also a member of the West of England Design Forum, which is part of the South West Design Forum.
Keeping the company lean and using the tools the web has to offer has meant that their first year in business was a huge success, and an enjoyable one too. Not only have they made a profit, but they’re also going from strength to strength with a growing list of clients, who are all enjoying the value of collaborating in this innovative way