Creativity Meets Commerce at Cole & Son’s Jubilee Place Salon

The panel featured illustrious speakers: Marek Reichman, Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin Lagonda; Alexandra Llewellyn, CEO of the luxury board games brand Alexandra Llewellyn; and Marie Karlsson, Creative and Managing Director at Cole & Son.

The discourse delved into their personal creative processes, the delicate balance between fostering creativity and driving business growth, and the extent to which a brand can push its boundaries to meet bespoke requests.

From the outset, it was evident that Cole & Son remains unwavering in its commitment to expertise and trust in their creative process. Marie Karlsson remarked, “We want to go where others don't in the interior industry. We want to start our authentic journey from the raw paper and the canvas we paint on… it needs to start by the hand in our design house. That's what defines us.”

Alexandra Llewellyn shed light on the distinction between creating to sell and producing bespoke pieces, a domain familiar to both Cole & Son and Aston Martin. Llewellyn noted that bespoke projects begin with the client, but working on various bespoke pieces simultaneously means they all inform one another.

For all these businesses, whether crafting luxury board games or designing some of the world’s most opulent supercars, Marek Reichman emphasised that the essence of creativity remains the same. “The immediacy of your though onto paper is what we do as creatives. Drawing is the fastest way to communicate an idea.” He highlighted the importance of team synergy, explaining that if he is the conductor of the orchestra “If the main violinist is out of tune, then the music is going to sound awful.”

Reichman’s primary role as Chief Creative Officer involves aligning business needs with client desires, ensuring clients fall in love with the creations. He pointed out that while clients know their needs, they might not always know their wants, which is where his team steps in to inspire and guide them.

One challenge inherent in bespoke projects is budget constraints. Marie Karlsson addressed the difficulties of balancing client desires with budget limitations, noting that these two factors often clash. There is also the matter of maintaining brand integrity; luxury brands steadfastly avoid copying others’ work or creating something that doesn’t align with their identity.

The panel also touched on their drive for success. Reichman highlighted that continuing creative work necessitates that past work be profitable to fund future projects. Sometimes, it’s about “convincing those holding the purse strings to invest and then showing them why.”

The evening's sophisticated discourse was complemented by glasses of Champagne Bollinger, the event’s partner. The elegant pairing of Bollinger with the timeless refinement of Cole & Son made for a perfect conclusion to the second Jubilee Place Salon.