Words by Molly Jenner

We decided to move from our beloved office at 53 Corsica Street after 10 wonderful years there. A rare opportunity came up for some commercial space in Highbury that we could really put our own stamp on. We were ready for a change and ready to really make the place our own. We drew up the plans and in April 2019 we started the ‘rip out’ stage of our somewhat behemoth project: a complete refurbishment of the ground floor space of a residential apartment building.

Then the pandemic hit. Work slowed down to a snail’s pace as we only had one or two people on site and distancing measures in place. All credit to our contractor, Matt Elgood of Elgood Builders, and his fine band of merry craftsmen - their work ethic and dedication to the project was a sight to behold.

The Everybody’s staff all diligently got on with their work from home while Adam and I went back and forth between our home offices (well, shed and kitchen respectively) and site. In the end, while building work was impeded no end by the lockdowns and coronavirus restrictions, the extra time did actually give us the headspace to make more measured decisions. Our 6-8 month build became an 18 month project. Thank goodness for patient neighbours who have welcomed us to the building. And thank goodness for our charming team including trusted Elgood Builders, our genius architect (Duncan Woodburn RIBA) whose ability to scheme conundrums in to neat solutions is second to none & our visionary and tirelessly working design team (The Mint List, Lucy Tudhope) led by Camilla Kelly.

After swimming around in a sea of choices: sapele wood or oak? Concrete surfaces or granite? Fixtures, fittings, nuts, bolts, marmoleum and screed… finally the office was functional by November 2020. There was a lot of snagging still to complete and staff still firmly locked down at home. So Adam and I had the run of the place for 7 months while we fixed her up and really bedded into our new home.

It’s been hard for all of us in the music industry - seeing what makes us tick and our lifeblood come to a crashing halt. So having this to focus on was a welcome tether, along with the innovative work our team were achieving for our clients and for the company in those unusual circumstances. When the UK opened up little by little and we could welcome back our team to their new space it was elating. To see their faces in person, to know that live music was coming back into the world again and to be in a beautiful, intuitive and inviting space was just what we needed after the long slog.

We were already keen to make a change when we started this whole renovation project but we had no clue in February 2019 just how much we were going to be grateful for it in July 2021.

It’s been a long journey to only move a few doors down the same road. We now happily reside at 31 Corsica Street.