We recently had the opportunity to have an insightful conversation with Sorcha Drakeford, Founder and Creative Director of Design@Studio17, offering residential and commercial interior design services. With decades of experience in the field, Sorcha leverages her expertise and attention to detail, ensuring her clients get a well-considered and efficient design that goes beyond aesthetics. With a demonstrated history of driving sales in the commercial space, Sorcha Drakeford ensures that her designs reflect a perfect ambience while standing the test of time, and each decision considering the contribution to visitors, employees, and the investment, both in the immediate and for years to come.
Career Trajectory of Sorcha Drakeford
We started the interview by asking, “Can you walk us through your professional journey and how it led to where you are today?”
Sorcha Drakeford shared, “My career began in hospitality as a Kitchen Porter in Pizza Express when I was 14, and by the age of 26, I became an Area Manager. Opportunities kept popping up within the business, and I learned greatly from them, in design, systems, and operations. From there, I moved into the pub and hotel sector, working across many of the UK’s leading pub companies.
I have worked in operations, strategy, innovation, and developing new formats and concepts. Additionally, I have worked on ‘problem’ businesses or concepts to turn them around. Success has always come from the same discipline – developing a great team, ensuring everyone is connected to a common vision, and creating the systems and routines that enable you to achieve the vision. After working on circa 60 refurbishments, from operations to concept development, I gained a strong insight into all of the workings and importance of collaboration with the different teams involved in a development, and that a bar, restaurant, or even a bedroom, has to do so much more than look good; it needs to work for its visitors, the team, and the business owners.”
“Great design has to incorporate what I like to call ‘the science,’ to make it effortless for the team to achieve an outstanding visitor experience, whilst ensuring routines and processes are set up to drive efficiencies. We understand the details that matter and our role in supporting your success. Later in my career, I developed a small portfolio of pubs where I had full creative control. That’s when I realised how much I loved designing the spaces themselves and started to combine my career in hospitality with interior design,” she added.
Navigating through Challenging Phases
Challenges are an inevitable part of the evolution and growth of a professional journey. To learn more about Sorcha Drakeford’s career obstacles, we posed the question, “Reflecting on your career, what have been some of the most significant challenges you’ve faced, and how did you overcome them?”
Sorcha Drakeford mentioned, “There have been many, but leading the operations team in a large company through the Covid-19 pandemic definitely stands out as a learning experience. It feels incredibly surreal to think back to those times of navigating uncertainty, protecting jobs, and adapting our business model quickly. We were working with cross-functional teams, listening to everyone’s ideas to get the best solution for the business and always carrying the weight of getting it right for the 1600 pubs that were relying on us. This ensured we thought about everything, and if we hadn’t, we worked together to find a solution.
One of the biggest achievements was preparing pubs for garden-only trading, as customers were still not allowed to sit inside. Finding solutions to challenges we had never experienced before, not only enabled us to trade safely, but it resulted in achieving some record sales in those weeks. I am pretty proud of what we achieved as a business and a team, from those behind the scenes that pulled it together, to the ops team that delivered it on the ground.”
Sorcha Drakeford further added, “In the design world, I recently worked on a kitchen extension that had been completed before I was hired by the client. It really highlighted the importance of hiring your builder, architect, and interior designer at the beginning of a project. Whilst the build was perfectly fine, some spatial planning decisions had a significant impact on the effectiveness of the space and how the client could use it. There were times when I was worried about achieving the best outcome to ensure that the space worked effortlessly for each occasion.
We spent hours ensuring to create space for different zones, allowing us to find the balance of furniture that created an effortless flow of movement through the space. Details matter to us at Design@Studio17, and we put as much care and attention into clients’ design, as we would our own. We want our clients to love every inch of their space.”
A Healthy Balance Between Vision and Operational Requirements
We further asked, “How do you balance long-term vision with short-term operational needs?”
“I have been criticised several times in my career about my attention to detail. Some leaders or peers who were more senior than me at the time felt it was not strategic enough to ‘be in’ the detail, that it all had to be strategy. I personally believe you not only can do both, it’s essential, you need a strategy and a vision, and then the steps to get you there. I think my ability to move between the two has been crucial for all the roles I have taken. I plan for the long term, I map out the steps to get there and the impact it is going to have, and I work to eliminate those challenges.
And of course, things still can surprise you. So, if I do have a short-term need that hasn’t been planned, I will remap, but keep my eye on the vision to ensure it’s aligned and won’t derail what we are working towards. As a business owner, that balance is more challenging, especially with the overwhelming amount of advice out there. But I know what I want to build and why, so I take steps every day toward that goal. I’m also lucky to have an incredible team that truly shares and shapes our mission,” explained Sorcha.
Current Offerings at Design@Studio17
Interested to learn more about the services offered at Design@Studio17 and if any exciting additions are in the pipeline, we asked Sorcha Drakeford to share the same.
Sorcha Drakeford responded, “At Design@Studio17, we work across both residential and commercial interior designs, with sustainability and wellbeing at the heart of what we do. For our residential clients, we offer services ranging from design consultancy through our Creative Studio – the design studio is for those navigating their own renovations but wanting design advice or some reassurance along the way, right through to a full turnkey service, we take care of every detail.
In the commercial space, we love working with small business owners who want more than design services. We help business owners create a brand within their business so that every aspect of their business is perfectly aligned. We don’t just focus on the aesthetics, we help develop the science that underpins the interiors to ensure they succeed.
This year we are about to launch our Christmas design services. Last year, I decorated a few properties for Christmas, from trees to tablescaping, but this year we have developed our proposition into three streams. Firstly, a fully bespoke service, limited to 10 clients, where we do all of the work for clients, from concept to final install. Secondly, a virtual design service, where we create a personalised scheme to reflect the client’s home. And lastly, curated packages, available to purchase online: four beautiful concepts that can be ordered from us, to install by yourself at home by following our install guidance.”
Staying Ahead of the Curve
Interested to learn more about the methods used by Sorcha Drakeford to analyze market trends and their impact on her business decisions, we requested her to shed light on the same.
Sorcha Drakeford explained, “As a designer, I am not swayed by trends, I base each design on the space, the client, and its intended purpose to create a timeless design. We are often too wasteful, and I want to leave a legacy on the planet; following trends is likely to lead to more waste. Whilst there are some ‘trends’ that are now developing, such as biophilic design and an awareness of sustainable choices, these shouldn’t be trends; this should be the only way as we move forward.
That said, I always keep my eye on developments, though. It’s important to stay informed so I remain knowledgeable; there are some incredible innovations out there that not only look great but also positively impact the environment. I keep my eye on AD PRO and U green, my favourite design magazines and digital solutions that make life a little easier for our clients.”
Redefining Businesses with Digital Revolution
To understand the impact of technological advancements on Design@Studio17, we inquired, “How has digital transformation affected your business model?”
“I think digital has been impacting all of us for some time. In many ways, it can help, but it can also make it harder. I am constantly learning and keeping my eyes and ears open to what is going on in the landscape. I am probably bucking the trend on AI though. For two reasons and in no particular order, I think it’s important that people get to know us for us, not an AI version, integrity is really important to me, and I think it’s only right that our socials, etc., are from us, and that when clients are contacting us, they get a real human.
Secondly, sustainability is a value that underpins everything we do, whilst we certainly aren’t perfect yet, AI is not a sustainable choice, be it the impact on energy, water, and people. So it’s not that we have never used it, but we rarely use it,” Sorcha shared.
Envisioning the Future
To gather Sorcha Drakeford’s perspective on the future growth of her industry, we asked, “What emerging technologies do you believe will have the most significant impact on your industry in the next five years?”
“Some interesting technologies are developing, like VR could reduce the need for travel on projects and help clients visualise their space, but I hope the most significant impact is a drive to sustainable materials and practices that encourage us all to adopt a circular economy, we need to reduce waste. I’d love more people to embrace vintage pieces and local artisans. These choices reduce waste, celebrate craftsmanship, and support community – values that matter deeply to us,” Sorcha shared.
Fostering a Healthy Workspace
Employees are the backbone of every business. So, we asked Sorcha Drakeford, “What strategies do you implement to maintain high levels of employee engagement and satisfaction?”
Sorcha Drakeford mentioned, “We are a small team, but having also looked after very large teams, I believe that transparency, communication, and fairness are all the essentials of ensuring your team enjoys being part of the team. Everyone needs to know they are part of the business success and the role they play in it, and they should be rewarded for it. Work can be hard work, so I encourage fun, authenticity, and honesty. At Design@Studio17, we work a four-day week, and I always work on trust, as long as the work gets done and our clients’ experience is nothing short of outstanding, if you need to start late or finish early, that works for me.”
Building a Strong Legacy
We ended the interview by asking, “How do you want your business to be remembered, and what steps are you taking to secure that legacy?”
“That’s an easy one: we want to be known for making a meaningful difference. Beyond our design work, we’re driven by a deep-seated belief in the power of kindness. That’s why we’ve woven compassion into the very fabric of Design@Studio17. We’re committed to channelling our resources and energy towards making a tangible difference in the lives of those facing hardship.
We work with two charities, Standing Tall, a UK-based charity helping people who have experienced homelessness to move away from the streets for good, and the Sorcha Children Foundation, based in Uganda, striving to help create brighter futures for vulnerable children. However, these aren’t just charitable endeavours; they’re expressions of our core value: that design and business should be a force for good. These passion projects are a reflection of our belief that every act of kindness, no matter how small, can make a significant impact,” Sorcha concluded.
To learn more about the designs and expertise of Sorcha Drakeford in this field, follow her on LinkedIn.
Find Design@Studio17 on LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and their website https://www.designatstudio17.co.uk/
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