Industry Insight: Fiona Collier at Bluesky Design Interiors

Let's start at the beginning. Tell me about Bluesky

It was established in 2003. I’d previously been working for one of the leading design-and-build contractors and furniture dealers in Leeds. I wanted more flexibility and I had a young family. I also wanted to be more independent and creative in terms of what I could specify. Then a longstanding project management contact mentioned to me  ‘I have a client and they want to speak to a designer who is independent and not tied into any particular supplier. Would you be interested?’’ That was my first client in 2003. From then, we just grew and grew.

How many are on your team now?

There’s six in the full team We have all worked in the field of commercial interiors throughout our career – and some of us go back a long time! We enjoy the experience within the team, when bouncing ideas off each other and particularly when training new recruits and graduates. The younger members of the team bring new energy to the business, they have the enthusiasm – and the software skills. We look to enhance this with good technical and site experience. 

We get called ‘the safe pair of hands’ because of the team credentials, but we’ve been shortlisted for design awards consistently for the past five years, so we are pretty creative too.

How has the sector changed in recent years? What are some of the changes you’re picking up on?

Last year we did a project for 2 Hardman Street in Manchester, which involved refurbishing the CAT A of the whole site. In addition to a new reception, the project also included a new shower and change facility, wellness room, bike store and maintenance station to be included. The impact of wellness has made itself felt on the spaces we’re creating now – you would never have put a yoga studio in an office a few years ago.

The biggest issue post-pandemic is just working out how employers can encourage their staff to want to return to the office. How can we provide an environment that will support staff to do more than work, and all the different challenges that come with getting staff back in?

Is there an easy way to get staff back into bricks and mortar?

It’s challenging. Personally, I think there should more dialogue around encouraging people back to the office. I think there’s a misconception that people work more effectively at home. It might be applicable to certain tasks and certain businesses and certain roles, but I don't think this is applicable to the whole economic workforce.

What are some of the things that can help incentivise staff back to the office? 

Creating an office with a sense of community is important – offices need to be environments where you can spend quality time with your colleagues, bond with co-workers and enjoy social interaction. Mentoring and guidance are also critical to enable new recruits at all levels to develop a sense of  belonging. It’s more about human nature than the quality of the coffee. If you can come into the office and feel like you’ve actually been able to achieve something with colleagues in a fantastic environment, that’s a good thing.

Learn more about Fiona’s work at Bluesky Interiors at blueskydesigninteriors.co.uk