Studio B61 Turns 3…
…During a pandemic. Who would have guessed how our 3rd year of business would have ended.
As reach the end of our 3rd year, as we always do, let’s recap…
For those of you that don’t know, Hannah ran Headdesk Graphic Design Studio for six and a half years before rebranding and starting Studio B61 Ltd. Over the years Headdesk began to out-grow itself as our print and photography areas developed rapidly and so we naturally evolved into a multi-service agency. And so Studio B61 was born.
Now 3 years on, we’re still pushing the photography and print side of the business alongside our core service of Graphic Design.
So, what’s new this year?
We announced in our year 2 blog post that we would be relocating to Kidderminster. We got the keys to our new premises in August last year and in September started with a chaotic couple of weeks in-between offices whilst we renovated. On Monday 16th September, after 5 weeks of renovation work, we were set up and ready to work in Kidderminster.
September 2019: Move in Day
We had a really good few months of Photography at the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020. We traveled around the country on location shoots and got published in national papers, on Red Bull’s website and in international magazines. We also put our new photography studio to the test with lots of headshots and product shots.
What did we get up to during Lockdown?
Throughout lockdown we’ve been supporting our existing clients as much as we can and also taken some time to redirect our own focus. Hannah has been working hard over at Outpost Custom, a company which she runs with her partner Alex.
As COVID restrictions ease we hope to start getting people back in the Photography Studio again, currently we are just shooting products in there and we miss having smiling faces in front of the camera.
Alec spent a lot of his time shooting mountain biking action shots in the Wyre Forest. After his feature on Red Bull last year, he’s been really pushing his Sports Photography.
Our work with HMPPS continues, in early 2019 we started working for HMP Full Sutton in York which has been really interesting and rewarding. We completed our first nationwide project for HMPPS this year, which went out to staff across the whole of the Long Term & High Security Estate. Unfortunately like most of the work we do for HMPPS we can’t share it with you, but it was a proud moment for us to know this piece of work was keeping the staff informed of the important issues they need to be aware of.
We’ve had a great opportunity over the past few months to update the marketing materials for one of our long term clients – Darby Keye Property. We designed a new website for them which went live over lockdown. Not only is the new website looking fresher than the previous site, which had become dated over many years, it also features a search facility. The new functionality makes it easier for occupiers to find relevant properties for their requirements.
To go with their new look website, we also gave their particulars template, marketing materials and pitch documents a refresh to match.
What’s next?
If the end of 2020 is anything like the start… then, who knows!
“I think I’ve learnt this year that we need to be flexible in business and adapt easily. I’ve been taking the much more laid back ‘freelancer’ approach for the past few months. For the rest of the year I’m going to continue doing what we can and support as many business as possible throughout these really difficult times in business. I hope that next year we can really get back on track to expand Studio B61 into the multi-discipline agency that it deserves.” – Hannah D
Our team hopes to continue working with our long-term clients and are always looking to work with new businesses to get creative with.
If you want to keep up to date with life at Studio B61 follow us on Instagram. Hannah and Alec have their own profile where you can see what they are working on. Follow @StudioB61_Hannah & @StudioB61_Alec for updates.