Reading Time: 8 minutes

On a quiet street hidden amongst Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter is Dual Works, a thriving design studio and workshop that marks its 10th Anniversary this Spring.

Dual Works is a dynamic trio of designer-makers comprised of Zoe Robertson, Steve Snell, and Olivia Ricketts. This team seamlessly blends their talents to conceive, craft, and install extraordinary commissions, interiors, and furniture.

With a combined wealth of over 50+ years of experience across a breadth of 3D design and fabrication, Dual Works was founded in 2015 by Zoe Robertson and Steve Snell. Both originally trained as jewellers and previously worked within the creative industries and higher education before launching Dual Works. “We enjoy the process of designing and making.” Zoe says. “We have a breadth of material knowledge and accumulated design experience which all comes together under Dual Works. Progressing from jewellery, where you’re playing with process, materials, structure and form, the scale of our work has grown exponentially!” There’s a whole spectrum of projects here, with the common thread of a love of making.” Steve adds.

In November 2022, the team welcomed Olivia Ricketts and together, they form a symbiotic partnership, leveraging their individual strengths to push the boundaries within their work. Here, Zoe, Steve, and Olivia seamlessly collaborate, each bringing their unique perspective and expertise to the table. From initial concept sketches to the finishing touches, every project is infused with passion and meticulous attention to detail.

The team’s portfolio spans both commercial and residential projects alongside creative projects which fall under ‘socially engaged practice’. These projects see Dual Works designing and making projects which have an impact within a community. “It’s more than just making furniture” Zoe explains. “Our work is impactful, and people are at the heart of these projects.” Stand-out projects in this vein include commissions for the Sense Charity, Heart of Birmingham Vocational College, and more recently, the National Festival of Making and Pendle Festival of Culture.

Here the team share 3 of their favourite projects: An inclusive sensory studio for Sense Charity, The Welcome Arch a collaborative installation longlisted for the prestigious MacEwen Award 2025 and Stripe Kitchen conceived for the award winning Five Acre Barn.

A collaborative approach was central to building a relationship with the team at Sense Charity. We created sensory and inclusive furniture guided by their knowledge and expertise, which celebrates their community.

“There’s a lot of observation and learning involved,” Steve says. “It requires us to become immersed in these individual’s stories and their insights into a world which we may not be aware of. We’re constantly looking, listening, and learning, and through our curiosity and this natural dialogue we see the elements for the project emerge.”

“The thing that always struck a chord was Sense teaching us that if you are a person who is deaf-blind, your world is sensed and communicated through your fingertips. We had to really understand this and to think about designing and making furniture which allows somebody to explore through form, texture and tactility.” Zoe adds.

Understanding the impact and complexity of braille proved an important part of this work. A feature storage wall celebrates and showcases braille, which is made in relief as a sensory aspect which establishes a sense of place. Zoe says, “we presented the design concepts to the team and they couldn’t believe how we had pulled out these strands, understood the key elements and created exactly what they had imagined, which would go on to have a massive impact on their community.”

Rachel Perrin, Associate Director: Operational Programmes at Sense adds “Feedback from parents who bring their children to Sense sessions has been so positive. Spaces are safe, welcoming and far removed from clinical spaces they may have experienced. You get a sense of calm joy when you walk into our new children’s studios. That is down to Dual Works partnership delivering on our shared vision for these spaces.”

“That’s the thing about being understood,” Steve adds. “It’s quite profound. We learnt a lot from that project and we’re really proud of it.”

2025 MacEwen Award

The Welcome Arch a playfully vibrant, community-designed installation co-commissioned by the National Festival of Making and Pendle Festival of Culture. Was recently longlisted as one of 30 projects for the Riba Journal prestigious MacEwen Award 2025.

This project brought together local residents through creative workshops, resulting in a collaborative artwork which celebrated both festivals and the spirit of community engagement. Intergenerational workshops were focused on looking forward, fostering connections, and encouraging meaningful dialogue. An integral part of the design concept was the idea of viewing the towns through “rose-tinted glasses,” encouraging a fresh, colourful perspective. Olivia explained, “we viewed the project not just as the creation of an arch but as a collaborative process deeply rooted in community engagement.”

Upon learning there would be a peace walk incorporated into the festival, Dual Works proposed an innovative idea: the community could actively participate in building the Welcome Arch. During the festival’s opening, participants ceremonially paraded banners conceived in the workshops as part of the peace walk. These were then handed over to Dual Works to assemble into the arch, culminating in a collective walk through the gateway to start the festival. “Many participants visited the festival to see their contributions in the arch, which was a source of pride for both the creators and the community.” Olivia says

The Welcome Arch was multifunctional, with panels which can be adjusted to different angles, akin to a Mexican Wave. Its colourful viewfinders allowed visitors to view the towns through a colourful perspective, and when the sun shone, the Arch’s vibrant panels sent patterns dancing across the floor. It’s now found its home in a community hub in Nelson.

Elena Jackson, Director of National Festival of Making, said: “The Welcome Arch provided a place of gathering at the National Festival of Making – a place to sit with others, have a moment of reflection in the busy festival environment, and enjoy the changing colour reflections as the sun came out. Working with Dual Works, This is Nelson and members of the community on this commission resulted in a collaborative, high quality and unifying piece of work – one that embodies the qualities of making we continuously aim to celebrate. For us, it was a joy to work with the Dual Works team whose passion for considered, contemporary design and engagement runs through their work.”

Alongside their socially engaged projects, Dual Works are carving out a name for themselves in the worlds of commercial and residential design.

Celebrating materials is something that comes naturally to Dual Works – as three passionate designers, the love and care for the raw craftsmanship is evident. “The design process is always a three way conversation between us, the client and the materials.” Steve says. Mastering materials such as birch plywood comes hand in hand with honing the craft of making custom furniture – something Dual Works pride themselves on. One material which has become something of a signature for Dual Works is birch plywood – a versatile, high quality material which the team use for both structural and finishing details.

“We’re a mixed material studio,” Olivia says. “We look at every project through different lenses and ask, what materials would be best suited to this project? We enjoy the material qualities of birch plywood as it’s a great canvas; its adaptable, even down to its ability to reflect light really well, which is something many clients look for when commissioning a residential project.”

In designing the interior of their new living quarters, Bruce Badrock and David Woodbine co founders of Five Acre Barn called upon Dual Works to conceptualise a kitchen which would encapsulate functionality, simplicity and craftsmanship. Five Acre Barn is an award-winning, contemporary bed and breakfast set in five acres of tranquil garden and woodland on the Suffolk coast. Steve explains “We were excited by this opportunity as we love the architectural design of the barn originally conceived by Blee Halligan Architects and the interior styling celebrates birch plywood” Zoe adds “we were delighted they asked us to create a dream kitchen for a new living quarters design by John Allen Architects”.

Aptly named Stripe Kitchen, showcases understated elegance and attention to detail. The design features linear stripe elements, which celebrate the layered edge detail of birch plywood. Visual excitement is enhanced by a colour reveal, which sees one side of each plywood stripe layered with a joyful addition of Clementine Formica. This can be seen when passing through the kitchen in one direction, allowing the natural grain of the plywood to come into its own when passing the opposite way. The bespoke effect is paired with contemporary reeded, sliding glass doors for the wall cabinets and Folkestone Formica countertops.

Olivia explains, “We enjoy featuring a pop of colour. The birch plywood adds the base and the colour brings a visual personality.” The use of bold colour is dotted throughout Dual Works’ projects, both called upon to embrace their joyful ethos and implemented intentionally.

David Woodbine and Bruce Badrock co- founders of Five Acre Barn share their thoughts on the creation of their dream kitchen “We were really pleased when Dual Works agreed to design and build a kitchen for an extension to our home. We have always admired Dual Works creativity, use of colour and playfulness and were confident that they would deliver something unique that would enhance the new space. Which they did in spades! Not only is the end product everything that we had hoped for, but the process was inclusive, comprehensive and of course fun. They delivered to the agreed schedule but were also flexible when our build timetable overran. One thing that you can’t so easily tell from photos is the production quality – everything is beautifully made and exceptionally well finished”

So what does the next chapter hold for Dual Works?

After several years of tackling a changing business climate, increasing material costs and floods in their workshop, it seems that as they move forwards, Dual Works have become masters of not only overcoming challenges but thriving.

Quietly confident, their 10th anniversary is a testament to their resilience, tenacity, and creativity. Their positive outlook, openness and ability to listen amongst the noise, is the foundation on which they continue to build.

At their core, Dual Works’ philosophy embodies one simple belief: that every project should be joyful. Each of their works is a playful embrace of colour, injecting personality into their designs while maintaining a foundation of clean lines and simplicity.

“We’re ambitious,” Zoe says. “Our confidence is growing as a collective in different ways as we develop, success for us is not about growing into a big team. Its more about keeping the process intimate and building strong relationships is integral to our practice. We don’t want to lose sight of the important things.”

Their main focus for now? “Keep having fun.”

For more information, visit https://dual.works/

Share this