The ISG Retail Week Interiors Awards recently released their shortlist, highlighting the work of many fantastic companies – huge congratulations to all those nominated!  With this in mind we have decided to focus this edition of our bimonthly blog on this.  Going strong for 19 years, these awards will be held on 3rd November at the Hilton Hotel in Hyde Park, and will celebrate the most creative and innovate projects that the retail store design and fit-out sector has to offer.

As always there are far too many companies to mention individually so we have chosen just 5 to focus on;

The Alan Nuttall Partnership – As well as sponsoring the ‘Fashion Retailer of the Year’ category, the Alan Nuttall Partnership have also been nominated in 3 different categories.  Their ‘Non-Food Design of the Year’ nomination for the work they did for Habitat was the project that stood out for us the most –  a vibrant and spacious mini-store flagship on Tottenham Court Road.  Last year the company were honoured with a high commendation in the ‘Non-Food Design of the Year’, again for the work carried out with Habitat.

Elemental Design – Nominated in the ‘Best use of Design with Technology In-Store’ category for the fantastic work they helped to deliver with SIRIN LABS, their unique concept store reflected the brands ethos beautifully.  Last year the company were highly commended in the ‘Best Small Store – Non-Food’ category for their work with the Cambridge Satchel Company.

SFD – SFD have been nominated 6 times in 5 categories, one of the nominations being for the prestigious NAS Shopfitting Excellence Award won last year by Clements Retail.  Their ‘Best POP/VM Solution’ nomination for the work produced for Harrods was the project to most catch our eye – the ‘London Calling’ windows they created for London Fashion Week were fabulous.

Resolution Interiors – Nominated in the ‘Non-Food Design of the Year’ category for their flagship showroom in Wandsworth for Great Little Trading Co, the company created a welcoming and family friendly environment for the award-winning children’s goods retailer, previously only found online.

ITAB UK – As well as sponsoring the ‘Food and Supermarket Design of the Year’ category, ITAB UK have also been nominated an amazing 10 times in 7 different categories.  We really loved their ‘Best In-Store Eatery/Café/Bar’ nominated project they carried out for Waitrose – their wine bar at Kings Cross looks both fantastic and inviting; a great resting place after a big shop or long journey.

On a more Straco-related note, we have been having a great time here at Straco Towers since the last blog – not only have we have had a fantastic number of placements, new clients, new candidates and new jobs in, but we have also been celebrating the start of the Olympics in true Straco style.  We can’t reveal too much at this stage (although you can get some sneak peaks on a daily basis on our twitter feed @stracogroup) but we can tell you there have been some office Olympic events taking place and there is a feeling of competition in the air!  A full disclosure of all the events and happenings will be available shortly…watch this space.

With the football season kicking off we are also looking forward to our Fantasy Football League taking off – a big hello and thank you to everyone who has already joined in the fun.  It’s a great way to play along with the season (even if you don’t like watching football) – for full details on how to join us and be in with the chance to win £150 simply email lora@stracorecruitment.com.  You can also join us on twitter @SRGFantasyPrem for updates, hints and tips.

And now for the blog finale.  We would like to say a big well done and congratulations to our Olympic Team GB who are doing extremely well over in Rio.  As Mo Farrah has been known to say, ‘Don’t dream of winning, train for it.’  Definitely applicable to all walks of life!