Five Minutes With… Our New Designers and Exhibition Fitters

The People's Museum. Two visitors are looking at a TV screen, with a man on the screen. | Image courtesy of Redman Design.
The People's Museum.
Image courtesy of Redman Design.
International Slavery Museum. The screen behind says Black Music Soul power, as a woman sings into a 50s style microphone. | Image courtesy of Redman Design.
International Slavery Museum.
Image courtesy of Redman Design.

Workhaus is a museum exhibition fitting company; they started up in 2001 and are based near Leeds. They had heard the name Redman Design for years, knew of them as an established and respected design company, and were very pleased when they first got the opportunity to work with them at The Manchester Museum a few years ago. Since then they’ve worked on a couple of projects at The Manchester Museum, Duxford Imperial War Museum and the Lews Castle Museum in the Isle of Lews.

Jim Ibbetson, Co-founder and Production Director of Workhaus, said that they’ve developed a mutually respectful and trusting relationship with Redman over time, making work on projects easier and more enjoyable. This facilitates both the smooth flow of information and resolution of obstacles, benefitting everyone and the project.

Other interesting projects

In addition to their projects with Redman Design, Workhaus have been working on several other interesting projects over the last few years such as The British Museum, Cutty Sark, The York Minster and they are currently in the middle of a project at the Natural History Museum.

As museum specialists, Workhaus have grown over the years to be able to provide most of the services required for a museum display under one roof. They are extremely excited to be working with Redman again on such a prestigious project and look forward to getting started.

Laury Redman, from Redman Design volunteered to answer some questions for the blog

Role: Partner at Redman Design

1. What attracted you to apply for the Our Warwickshire Project contract?
Community involvement is clearly at the heart of the project and it was this that attracted us.

2. What excites you most about the redevelopment?
Everything! It’s a wonderful old building right in the centre of the town with a really interesting mix of collections, some of which are unique. But we’re most excited about the opportunity to work with the museum team on something that local people can be part of.

3. What is the most stand out moment/or achievement from your career as designers working within the Heritage Sector?
There have been many, and every project brings its own challenges and rewards, but I think the moment that moved me most was hearing that The International Slavery Museum, which we had recently completed, had been honoured by UNESCO for the Promotion of Tolerance. We’re very lucky to work in a field where we can be part of something that makes a difference.

4. What does Our Warwickshire mean to you.
We want to help the people of Warwickshire to create the museum they deserve and can be proud of.