Read on to find out more.
Angela Newton, creative director and founder at &More, tells us about taking the leap and starting a new business in the midst of a pandemic, living life to its fullest, finding the balance between work and family and what drives her to succeed.
“You need to believe in yourself and trust your instincts”
For the past 10 years she has worked for and led one of Edinburgh’s leading workplace consultancies. Angela Newton has developed and grown in both her professional and personal life during these years. In the last two years alone and during a pandemic she welcomed her 2nd beautiful daughter with her husband, moved house and launched a new design consultancy!
We all saw the year 2020 turn out to be what none of us expected and we have witnessed the world continue to face many challenges in the year 2021.
In the uncertain times, many people sought security and whilst Angela appreciates certainty, she felt it was the right time to start their new business. “I love what I do, but I was frustrated by the environment and not being able to truly deliver what I felt the clients required. I had a vision and ambition to create a business based on people focused design and therefore took the big step in setting up &More Design Consultancy with my business partners’ ‘ Angela explains.
“Sure the times were (and are) uncertain but I don’t think there is ever the perfect time; you just need to believe in yourself and trust your instincts and take up opportunities” she continues.
A first class honours Degree in Industrial Design and HND in Interior Design, many people didn’t think Angela would achieve the grades she needed to get into the university due to her dyslexia. Her dad was in the army which meant that Angela spent a lot of her childhood moving around. “This taught me the value of being able to adapt and take advantage of changing environments, perhaps this is where my passion for design and change started” Angela says.
“I have an engineering mind and I am forever asking how and why – It is important for me to understand how things are made and what the reasons behind everything are”
Angela is motivated and inspired by people around her and her physical surroundings. She loves the story behind what fuels people’s passion and desire to succeed, what gives them strength to drive forward and accomplish their goals and ambitions. She is focusing on the positives and surrounding herself with the people that inspire and drive her. “Respect is very important to me,” Angela says, “treat others fairly and invest in your people, in return they will invest in you.”
“I am working really hard to find the best balance between work and family and I’m sure many can relate to this. I believe that I can achieve both (in time!) – loving what I do and being passionate about my work whilst having a well-balanced life at home as well”, Angela says and continues, “I want to show my girls that by working hard, being kind to yourself and others, being respectful, passionate and focused, you can achieve anything.”
“I was given opportunities to work hard and accomplish things myself and truly learn the value of achieving something yourself”
You can clearly hear how much Angela loves her job and how passionate she is about design and creating the right space for her client. She describes herself as a problem solver who wants to help people. “I like to listen, to observe, ask questions and then to design a creative solution” she says. “For me it is very important to understand and learn how things are made, what they cost, how long they take to build, it is not just about the look and feel.” The best designs are created together, by listening to their clients objectives and providing a creative solution and this is what they strive for at &More. “ For each project, we will collate a bespoke project team, specifically tailored to your brief. We bring an open and collaborative approach to our projects, as such we’re happy to partner with other practices and professionals to deliver optimum results”.
Their focus is on creating a space that fits its purpose and increases the functionality and enjoyment of the space for its people.
“I have a very creative mind and I love what I do”
“I feel very lucky to share this journey with my business partners Derek Binnie and Pawel Orszulak whom I have known for years”, Angela says. “We are a great team and we work really well together. We all bring something to the table and complement each other. We also share the same values and are all passionate about what we do, working together just comes naturally to us”.
“If you ask Derek or Pawel how they would describe me, they would probably say I am passionate, creative and eclectic” Angela says. “I have a very creative mind and I love what I do,” she confirms.
Their goal is to be ‘the go to design consultancy’, for delivering creative solutions for workplaces. “We appreciate the value of people focused design”. Angela tells . The name for their business came about as they were talking together about what they want to offer and achieve as a business. “We seemed to be adding ‘and more’ to everything we said ”, Angela laughs. The name feels very natural to us and describes us well.” In addition to our core business, we offer ‘and more’. We are very excited about the future and we are passionate about bringing positive change to the workplace, by creating people-focused spaces and more!