#HTE
With over 20 years industry experience, Jeremy Bull established Alexander &CO. in 2011, taking on multifaceted projects with equal rigour around commercial, cultural and creative focus. Sydneysider’s may recognize his work in local hospitality institutions such as the Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel, an iconic beachside club, and regular readers may remember our feature on the Sean Conolly at Dubai Opera rooftop restaurant.
Bull advises to never take a client you wouldn’t share a meal with, indicative of the personal approach taken to projects that goes beyond simply adhering to a brief. Humanity, Bull says, is at the heart of all Alexander &CO. projects, which has thus far resulted in some homely and enviable residential projects across Sydney.
A reaction he credits to an increasing, consumerist need for ‘newness’, Bull pursues simple timelessness through his work. Designing projects to last lies at the heart of Alexander &CO.’s considered and precise ethos. Read on for more wisdom from our full interview with Jeremy Bull!
Alexander & Co’s Bondi Junction Home. Photography by Anson Smart. Styling by Claire Delmar.
+ Hello Jeremy, welcome to Yellowtrace! Could you please give us a quick introduction on yourself and the path that lead you to start your practice?
Thanks for having me!
I believe in communities and I also believe in the cultural value of innovation. I have historically been restless in trying to understand my own place, and probably a pretty terrible employee given my own urgency to tip out systems which I saw as ineffective. Alexander &CO. was the natural progression toward trying to build a better system and create our own culture. It’s a journey which is in its 7th year, but it took me the 12 years prior to build the technical skills and courage to try.
Alexander & Co’s Bondi Junction Home. Photography by Anson Smart. Styling by Claire Delmar.
+ What is your main priority when starting projects? Is there something that is fundamental to your practice – your philosophy and your process?
Our relationships with one another and our client underpin all of the creative workflows. At the centre of design, is humanity. I think design fails when it forgets this fact, we are not only in pursuit of some design mythology, we are commissioned by real people within a context, the creative story is always second to this fact.
Tilly May’s, Surry Hills. Photography by Anson Smart. Styling by Claire Delmar.
+ You’ve won a number of (well deserved) awards over the past couple of years – how do you approach maintaining momentum and growth within your business and the industry at large?
We are not growth focused. Our interest is pursuing excellence with intention. Our practice oscillates at around 20 people within our team, and at the centre of our discussion is maintaining excellence, both commercially, culturally and creatively.
Burleigh Pavilion, Burleigh Heads QLD. Photography by Anson Smart. Styling by Claire Delmar.
+ How is your studio structured? What types of skills do you have in-house, is there anything you are outsourcing, and how many projects do you handle at any one time?
We have a practice and a team which is run by a leadership of seven Associates across 3 internal departments; Operations, Marketing and Administration. We use Open Book Management and have equity holders within the practice, so internal transparency is a core value. Within the team at large of 20 or so professionals, we have architects, interiors designers and FFE designers as well as marketing and financial administration. We outsource highly defined and specific skills sets whenever possible, so our network of professional contributors is actually much larger, we hold a belief that this brings diversity and structural robustness.
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