Careers in Consultancy at Nicholsons: A Case Study
I have known Nicholsons all my life, having grown up in the area in local villages with my parents still down the road. I started at Nicholsons back in the summer of 2016 on a placement year during my degree in Product Design at the University of Bournemouth. Our Managing Director, Liz, was brave enough to offer me a role. I believe her words at the time were, “We’ll take a punt on him.” To say I liked the job was an understatement and I quickly became part of the Nicholsons family and enjoyed collaborating with other departments.
After a great first year, I completely fell in love with gardens, landscapes and working with clients. It was a real delight to be offered the chance to come back upon finishing my degree. I used the holidays during my final year of study to work on Nicholsons construction sites, labouring and gaining a real appreciation and respect for what I would be instructing the teams to build.
When I returned, I helped to cover the role of Studio Manager while my colleague was on maternity leave, alongside developing my role as an assistant. I worked almost entirely as a mentee and personal design assistant to our Managing Director, Liz Nicholson. This proved to be an amazing partnership where we created some breathtaking landscapes and I directly learnt the respect, tact and flair that she brought to the role. I tried to absorb her every idea, thought, or most importantly, her approach when interacting with clients.
By Freddie Gibbs – Associate Director & Head of Garden Design
After a further two years in this role, I was promoted to Garden Designer and started working with clients independently with the guidance of other experienced designers. Another two years passed and I continued to work on an array of unique projects. I made great industry connections with architects and interior designers and started taking the lead in the direction of our studio. I became Head of Garden Design and have continued to nurture these relationships as well as taking care of some of our larger projects.
One and a half years later, I have become an Associate Director & Head of Garden Design. It has been seven and a half years since I first joined Nicholsons and not a bad “punt” if you ask me. This is a dream role where I look forward to further collaboration with friends in the industry to reduce carbon emissions and deliver the best outcomes for our clients.
Goals Within the New Role
There are two key goals for my new position. Firstly, I will become much more involved in the proactive marketing of who we are and sharing the positive message of the work we are doing. We work with incredibly talented external professionals and have built very successful working relationships with them.
Secondly, there will be an increasing role in our ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). This is very much linked to the first goal, especially toward carbon reduction in our industry and supporting clients to make decisions that benefit the environment and nature. At Nicholsons, we strongly believe that if it’s good for the planet, then it should be shared, and I hope to continue to support the incredible work that Nicholsons has already achieved. I will also be more active in our charitable endeavours, community and ethical practices.
If you would like to connect with Freddie to regarding project collaboration, click the button below.
