We are at a defining moment here at Toward. Today is a big day. We’re putting another pin in the map of our journey and looking to the future with a lot of confidence.
Tom and I first opened our Newport studio in 2004 after realising that working from home wasn’t really challenging us. At that time a good friend bought The Old Custom House and had finished renovating it. They had a ‘difficult’ attic space which was quirky and spacious enough to accommodate two newbie design studio owners.
Nine years on and here we still are, in the Old Custom House on Lower Dock Street. Each team member travelling from far and wide to come here and learn a trade and develop their skills. But the time has come to think of the team and say goodbye to Newport.
Newport has been good to us. It’s allowed us to grow, focus on what we do, develop our offering and not get distracted by the vibrancy of Cardiff life. Coming here was a conscious decision even though we drove straight past the Capital to get here. The whole idea was to avoid being a small fish in a large pond, to learn how to handle business, manage relationships, be reliable and give people a service that they’d be happy to pay a little more for.
The only problem that has caused us issue over the years is the travel time. It’s that simple. Geography. None of us are from Newport, most either travel through or from Cardiff to get here. Because of that we’ve decided to uproot and take residence on Bute Street, Cardiff.
I describe this as a defining moment for Toward mainly because I feel that after 11 years of ups and (a few) downs, we really know who we are and where our strengths lay. We’re working on great projects with great clients and this move focuses on making our lives a little easier.
There are things that we’ll miss about Newport. The breakfast at Boswells, the crazy characters on Lower Dock Street, Bacaro at Junction 28 to name a few, but my biggest affection falls to the wonderful Old Custom House. If I could take this building with me, I would. Its grand entrance has always stunned visiting clients and I’ve been proud to bring people through the door.
So now’s the time to say goodbye. Newport; you’ve delivered just what we needed and we thank you. Good luck to you and all who reside. Toward is off to the Bay.
This means we have new contact details, which are:
Portland House
113-116 Bute Street
Cardiff
CF10 5EQ
Tel: 029 2049 3819
We look forward to settling into Cardiff life, and we'll show you all the new studio once we're up and running.
