It’s easy to forget how different things were in the unusually dry summer of 1995, Brit Pop was topping the charts and pubs had only just been permitted to open on Sunday afternoons. Although many of us were using computers at work, you were as likely to communicate by fax as email. Environments however, still needed to be designed. Andrew French established Creed after honing his skills as a product designer, starting the business in his spare room (before WFH was a thing). He soon found that commercial interior design was the place to be; with many of our original clients coming from the hospitality and retail sectors we still serve today.
Although some of the tools and software we now regularly use were in their infancy, Andrew’s desire to resolve issues with elegant and well-crafted designs were key to Creed’s success. He worked with independents and larger businesses and as Creed’s reputation grew it became apparent that it should expand. Cue a young interior designer named Alex Barker who joined the team in 1999 and is now our Associate Director.
The team steadily grew and it wasn’t that long before we came to reside in our studio in Enderby, Leicestershire. Being based in the East Midlands and close to the M1 it was easy for all the designers to access restaurant and retail sites nationally and in the early days they certainly put in the miles. Fortunately though this has changed in recent years, although we still work across the UK and beyond, we travel more sustainably whenever we can. Like many good yarns Creed’s story has had its ups and downs. Having come through the feared millennium bug of 2000, then the financial crash, our studio was stuck by lightning in 2009. Although those inside fortunately escaped with only minor injuries, the resulting fire meant the studio and its contents were destroyed. Showing huge determination Andrew and the team had the studio up and running again in a matter of days, although this time it was from his front room. It took over a year for the studio to be rebuilt but the guys worked throughout this time, ensuring our base, The Old Bank, returned to its former glory and continuing ‘as normal’ with restaurant and retail design projects.
Fast forward to 2020 and Creed is still going strong with Mr French at the helm; our lovely team now contains interior, furniture, surface and graphic designers who approach projects with the same passion and care that Andrew did in 1995. We have embraced changes in technology and adopted new ways of working but are at our happiest creating thoughtful design solutions and memorable interiors for our clients. Our customers mean so much to us and we are pleased to still provide interior design services to the hospitality and retail sectors whether it be casual dining chains, pubs, retail showrooms, restaurants with rooms, quick service restaurants or opticians. Our current situation, in the midst of a pandemic does make the near future hard to predict. However, looking back at our archive of 25 years brings optimism; confirmation of Creed’s resilience, and opportunity to reflect and celebrate great design. Listen closely and you might just hear the pop of a champagne bottle as we offer a virtual toast to all the clients, suppliers, contractors, former and current team members. You have made our story what it is and we look forward to working for and with you for many years to come. Environments will still need to be designed and we can’t wait to get our hands on them. Cheers Everyone.