What does Remodel do?
Remodel is a commercial interior design company making buildings work for small businesses and organisations.
I work directly for owners, entrepreneurs, social innovators and individuals.
I resolve the friction between what they want to do, and what their buildings will let them do.
I bring commercial space to life for organisations, their staff and their customers.
About Remodel
I’m not about to tell the story of a typical interior design agency. There are plenty of those.
Here’s the story of the evolution of a small interior design practice, and the reasons why it’s small.
Spaces for business
Remodel was formed in 2007, specifically to work with growing independent businesses. Fforest Outdoor, an innovative new outdoor pursuits and holiday business, and Howies, an ethical clothing company were my first clients.
In my previous 10 years working as an interior design professional, I'd specialised in working on smaller scale projects for big corporations on limited budgets.
We'd had to do a lot with a little and be inventive with what limited resources we had. These projects gave me an alternative education as a designer. They taught me how to design for the real world. I was well suited to my new work with Remodel.
Growing Pains
Some of the businesses I work with are bigger now but there's still a common introduction to most new clients.
Successful business is about change. If you run a growing, changing business you get to a point where you need to do things with your buildings. Here's the problem though. Those buildings aren't so good at changing, and they often hold you back.
Here's the other problem. Just when you think you've got the space you want, your business changes again. Progress is cyclical. A big push followed by a period of stasis and then on again. Buildings often can't keep up.
You might need to lease a workshop unit, fit out a store, move to a bigger office, enlarge a production facility, or renovate an existing building. All of these examples involve bending a building to your will.
Specifically, I work with companies that are growing from a small to a medium size, a point in their development where the use of a building often starts to become a factor.
A Practical Approach
Remodel designs spaces for 'flow'. Designers and architects are trained to make everything fit. To design space around a specific use. My clients would say this is not possible or desirable in the world of commercial interiors.
Much of what Remodel has done has catered for the exact opposite. I try to smooth the constant friction that retailers, brands and other businesses face when they need to work in their spaces.
It is possible to design spaces that communicate a company's values and culture amongst staff and to their customers, while at the same time delivering a project that will have longevity and remain fresh.
This is pragmatic stuff I realise. Not the usual sales pitch of an interior design company, but it's an approach that yields space that works.
Where next?
As my original clients have grown, their spaces have evolved with them. We have been able to see what the anticipation of future needs looks like, and how we might design for the long term.
Our buildings can work much harder than they currently do and the way I have worked with smaller businesses has pointed in the right direction.
I have had the privilege to work with many inspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. They would all admit they are driven by the need to change constantly, to keep ahead and to second guess what might come next. They would also say that it is refreshing to work with a design company that tries to build spaces that do the same.
The aim of Remodel remains as it always has. To give business owners the freedom to concentrate on growing the business they've always wanted, in space where they can put their ideas to work.
Founder
Russell Ashdown
