The new work | life balance
Many of us are now working in ways once passed up as a fleeting thought, a love-hate notion of working remotely or from home. For this practice director working from home was always a struggle as I found it more difficult to motivate myself in a place I find so comfortable, more so the fact that Starki was started in my front living room while renovation and extension works were being undertaken. It was inevitable the practice would require a separate studio.
We opened our Orchard Street Studio in October 2019 with a prime location in Swansea City Centre providing ample workspace and easy access to our supply chain, network partners and clients. Advanced ICT systems also enabled us to work remotely where required, giving us a head start on what was to come early the following year.
While many, myself included, couldn’t predict the situation we now find ourselves in, Starki is a practice well-resourced to respond to emerging changes. We moved our operations to home-based working a week before restrictions came into effect in the UK and, 9 weeks later, continue to work on live projects and qualify prospective clients.
Using the concept of our original plan for Starki, we looked at ways in which the business can operate indefinitely on a remote basis. While this has worked for us very well over the last few weeks, moving forward will require a suitable base to collaborate and invite prospective clients, when the time is right.
To gain that essential work-life balance while retaining the ability to work from home has resurrected a concept from one of Starki’s original business plans – conceiving, designing and building a bespoke studio.
Many will have viewed our annex page which forms part of the works we specialise in. We are lucky enough to have space to choose from when it comes to placing our proposed new studio, however for some this may pose more of a challenge, which is where our expertise can come into play.
Making the most of your home’s grounds can be a way to improve your work-life balance with a home office or studio, enjoy your outdoor space with a summer house, guest house or detached workshop by extending your available space without building onto your existing dwelling.
Our new studio, River Meadow, will be completed toward the end of 2020 with the view of inviting qualified clients to exclusive viewings and design sessions when national restrictions allow us to.
Are you working from home and feel you need a more focussed working environment? We can help you to gain back your work-life balance. Get in touch on the link below and let’s work together.
