The Garden Room Studio Case Study

FROM BOATS TO BORDERS

Case study: Matt Evans, The Garden Room Studio

“THE BALI ACCREDITATION PORTRAYS A LEVEL OF QUALITY ASSURANCE, AND BUILDS TRUST WITH POTENTIAL CLIENTS.” Matt Evans

FROM BOATS TO BORDERS How landscaping unleashed a dormant design dream

Six years ago, Matt Evans was regularly jetsetting across the world, working with luxury yachts for some of the biggest names in the marine industry. Helping to create floating palaces for the super wealthy, he was building a successful career as a product designer and manager.

Yet, he wasn’t entirely happy. Worn down by the extensive travel and trapped in a somewhat rigid environment, he sought a new venture that would allow him to better express his creative ideas.

Compounding the issue was that his wife, Elle, who had trained as an interior designer via university, was regularly away working in London, meaning they often felt like ships passing in the night.

during summers and school breaks, and knew then what would allow him to unleash his pent-up creativity and flair – landscape design.

“Initially I went and got a Postgrad in garden design in my spare time while also working my normal day job. Then I took on some maintenance and planting jobs, before working for an architect friend helping with CAD design and managing tender for about six months.

Then it spiralled from there really and has kept growing ever since.”

Since swapping yachts in the Med for flowers in a bed, he hasn’t looked back.

“We were away once and we said to each other that we needed to come up with a way where we could both work together, start our own thing, and achieve a better balance,” explained Matt.

“The frustration I had in my old job was that I had lots of ideas, but because it was a huge multi-national business, and it wasn’t my business, I was just the man who delivered the bad news to the customer and then had to sort it out, following fairly strict parameters. It was very hard to get the feedback from my ideas and the client’s ideas back to the higher-ups to make any real design changes,” he said.

So, he thought back fondly to his younger days, helping out in the family landscaping business

“Now, however, I’m coming up with the ideas and solving problems in the first instance, and

“ONE OF THE REASONS I WANTED US TO JOIN BALI WAS FOR THE REASSURANCE THAT WE WERE GROWING IN THE RIGHT WAY.” Matt Evans

then being able to implement them, and that’s

different to building gardens.

really rewarding.”

Now, six years later, BALI has helped Matt and Elle to grow the business and establish themselves as one of the premier landscape design companies in the county of Dorset.

“Being a member of BALI has helped to show that our business is a professional one. The BALI accreditation portrays a level of quality assurance, and builds trust with potential clients,” he said.

“Accreditation is great for clients as it shows that people have got the back end of their business tidied up. There are a couple of really good contractors that we’re working with who haven’t got accreditation that I’ve been telling for ages that they need to do it.”

“The reasons we did it originally is probably different to why I think it is so valuable now.

Initially, I wanted to set up the business “properly”, to make sure we had all the right things in place so we could then charge the right money,” clarified Matt.

As most in the industry will be aware, there are often people from many walks of life that enter

“We’ve always tried to run the business that way and it is especially paying dividends now because we’re finding that the middle to lower end of the market has gone very quiet, there’s not a lot of work there, so the clients that we are working with are all spending over £100,000 or more. That’s not something we originally foresaw happening and without that

into landscaping; from the traditional routes such as a course at college or an apprenticeship, to

initial accreditation we might not have been able to build our reputation sufficiently with

more unusual ones such as Matt’s. It is one of the things that makes the industry such a vibrant, diverse and welcoming place to work, and with it

this level of clientele.”

comes an array of skills, talents and viewpoints.

Matt’s history in the marine industry is no exception, and it has given him some vital tools which he was able to call upon when making his landscaping business a success.

“Fortunately, there were a number of transferrable skills I had developed from my time in the marine industry,” said Matt. “The job I had in the run up to retraining was a problem-solving job. There was a construction element to it, albeit completely

“WITHOUT THE INITIAL BALI ACCREDITATION WE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD OUR REPUTATION SUFFICIENTLY.” Matt Evans

Interestingly, since joining the Association, Matt’s outlook on BALI’s value has somewhat shifted.

This strategy has seen the business grow to employ a number of new people since its inception, and today it consists of a site manager and plantsman, as well as two freelancers, in addition to Matt and Elle.

Yet it hasn’t all been plain sailing, with the successes having brought challenges that those with similar growth patterns will be all too familiar with. Thankfully, being a BALI member has helped him and the team to navigate these potentially dangerous waters.

“Being relative newcomers, we’ve grown really quickly. Therefore, one of the reasons I wanted us to join BALI was for the reassurance that we were growing in the right way. We were starting to deal with contracts that were valued at over half a million, and I’m a relatively new designer, so you’re sort of questioning yourself, questioning your methods, questioning how you’re doing things, all the time,” said Matt.

prepare for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Obviously, I was quite busy and didn’t really have the time to be dealing with somebody trying to derail us. BALI’s Technical Manager (Policy & Research), Ian Ludgate, put me in touch with Quest, and it got put to bed within just three or four hours, freeing me up to get on with what I needed to be doing and not worrying about other things,” he said.

As for giving out advice of his own, Matt’s quick

“So, the reassurance, especially with business contracts and the legal help available, has been really valuable.”

It’s not just the accreditation that has benefited The Garden Room Living & Landscape Studio though, as Matt has drawn value from the range of tools at the disposal of members. As well as being able to use the BALI Accredited logo on their website and vehicles, they have also recently made use of the legal services on offer through Quest.

“I had an intellectual property issue that I needed advice on, all while I was busy trying to

“We’re really starting to finesse what we do and create a bit of a space for ourselves now, rather than scrabbling around for work and just saying yes to everything, we can be a bit more selective, which is a nice position to be in,” he said proudly.

“We haven’t got there by accident, and being a BALI member has certainly helped on that journey, and hopefully for many years to come.”

induction into the workings of the landscape industry offered some important lessons.

“The key thing I learned is to find the right staff to help you, and actually allow them to help. Then you can work on your business and not in your business. Particularly as a designer, if you’re constantly out and about you’re never going to have the time to be creative,” mused Matt.

The jump from deckhand to Captain of the ship has clearly been a bountiful one for this career changer, and moving forward, confident in the support BALI provides, they are looking to a bright future.

“We’d also love to be able to submit a BALI National Landscape Award entry too. I’m still relatively new to this really, and while we do know what we’re doing, and we’ve done a Show Garden for a BBC event, an award would be really validating for me personally. Additionally, existing clients and potential clients see it as something really exciting and it lets them know they’re working with some of the best in the industry.”

With just six years under their belt and a swathe of high-end clients on their roster already, such recognition of Matt’s incredible journey and rise to prominence might not be all that far off.

Contact: thegardenroomstudio.com

“WE HAVEN’T GOT THERE BY ACCIDENT, AND BEING A BALI MEMBER HAS CERTAINLY HELPED ON THAT JOURNEY, AND HOPEFULLY FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.” Matt Evans

ENJOY ALL THE SAME BENEFITS AS THE GARDEN ROOM STUDIO AND BOOST YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BALI MEMBERSHIP

The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) is the leading Trade Association representing all landscape professionals - from design, build and maintenance through to supply, training and education.

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ombudsman will assess the dispute and help both parties to come to an amicable solution, as well as making a considered decision.

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Email: steve.crowe@bali.org.uk Phone: 02475 185 610