I’ve been working at Bowles & Wyer for 12 years now, that’s a long time I hear you say! Well yes, it certainly is but, to be honest it really hasn’t felt like it. I have been fortunate to work on some great projects during this time, honing my skills as a designer and project manager and working with some amazingly talented people along the way. I have had the freedom to enjoy my work, with my respected directors John Wyer and Chris Bowles, having given me enough rope to take chances, make mistakes and learn from them. Without this trust I would never have progressed into the position I find myself in as Design Director of Bowles & Wyer, a role I am very proud of. Trust without a doubt breeds motivation, creativity and success!
When I started out at Bowles & Wyer in 2005 the Iphone hadn’t even been introduced to the market and tablets were only of the medicinal kind! Edgar Davids (the chap with the odd specs) was playing for my beloved Tottenham Hotspur and the office was located in a cosy attic of a shared building in Berkhamsted. I remember my start date well, both nervous and excited, plus my eldest son Noah was born a couple of weeks after, making life even more interesting. He is now in his first year of secondary school and it’s scary how time moves on in the blink of an eye! I’ve had some ups and downs over the years as everyone does, I have been divorced and remarried in that time, and count myself very fortunate to have an amazingly supportive wife in Becky, and a young family of 5 fun loving and characterful children (Isla 15, Rosie 13, Noah 11, Isaac 11 and Finley 3) Life is never dull in our world and the fridge is never full for long!
Although many things have changed over the years, there are of course some reassuring constants, Bowles & Wyer is still a great place to work, we continue to take on and deliver the highest quality schemes, and the powerful 10am coffee can always be relied on to reset the pulse (brew for 4 minutes, no more, no less!) Plus John Wyer’s hair cut hasn’t changed one bit!
Now, I will be the first to admit, I never saw myself as a natural front man let alone Design Director, I haven’t always embraced the limelight over the years and I can be very quiet at times (the power of silence is a wonderful thing!). I am however fully aware that being introverted at times, means I can go unnoticed in a world and industry increasingly saturated by extroverts. My challenge to myself over the coming months and years is to work on this, raise my profile more in my own way and above all help to further promote Bowles & Wyer from the front foot. During my 12 years as a designer I have never stopped learning and listening, and never will, that’s the beauty of our profession. This has made me confident of holding my own against the best designers in our industry, I have just preferred to let my portfolio do the talking for me. The projects I am most proud of to date are The Lancasters (detailed design and project management), Eaton Square (concept to completion) A Surrey garden (BALI Grand Award winner) and more recently a Regents Park Garden (BALI Award Winner) and a large country garden in Cookham (recently finished). They all have different elements I am proud of but, above all they have felt like a real team effort to create and maintain.
A Regents Park Garden
Despite the varied and successful schemes we have worked on to date, I know there is so much more to come at Bowles & Wyer, and as Design Director, with a talented design team around me, I am convinced we will hit even greater highs over the coming years. So like my first day at the office, is it with nervous excitement that I look forward to the next chapter!
Eaton Square
October 8, 2017
