About Urbanplacechecklist

How the studio started

The first year was mostly small jobs around central Bristol: a reception desk for a solicitor's office near Gloucester Road, a run of built-in shelving for a design agency working out of a converted warehouse. Word travelled through word of mouth rather than advertising. By the second year the workshop had grown from three people to a proper team, and the range of work had widened to include full office fit-outs, not just single pieces.

Since then the studio has completed 1,920 jobs for 1,560 clients across the areas it covers around Bristol. Close to 300 of those clients have come back for a second commission, usually when a business moves premises or needs to furnish a new floor. The team now stands at 24 people, covering joinery, upholstery, design and project management, and the studio offers 8 distinct services, from single desks to complete open-plan layouts.

Mission and outlook

The mission is straightforward: furniture that matches the room, the budget and the way a team actually works, built by people who measure twice and explain their reasoning before they cut any timber. There is no interest in selling a bigger job than a client needs. A two-person consultancy asking for one desk gets the same attention to detail as a 40-desk office fit-out.

Looking ahead, the studio wants to keep its work local. Growth has meant more staff and a wider service list, not a move away from Bristol. The plan is to keep replying to enquiries within about 2 hours, keep production close to the five districts served, and keep the workshop small enough that the same people who take the brief also check the finished piece before it leaves.

Core values

• Measure before you design. Every project starts with an on-site visit and exact measurements, not assumptions from a floor plan.
• Say what a piece is made of. Clients are told the timber, board or upholstery fabric used, and why it was chosen for that room.
• Keep the brief honest. If a simpler design does the same job for less money, that option is presented first.
• Answer quickly. Enquiries are usually answered within 2 hours during business hours, not passed through a queue.

How a project is organised

1. An initial call or site visit to discuss the space, the number of desks or units needed, and the working budget.
2. Measuring the room and drawing a layout, checking doorways, cable routes and natural light before any design is fixed.
3. A design proposal with material choices and a firm quote, adjusted until the client is happy with both.
4. Production in the Bristol workshop, with joinery, finishing and upholstery handled in-house.
5. Delivery and installation on site, followed by a final check with the client before the job is signed off.

The people behind the work