The team
Paul Stephens | Director
Paul has over 20 years experience managing contractors on fit-outs for the likes of Tesco and Bristol Airport. He's worked with us for over four years on major bar and restaurant projects nationally, giving us the benefit of his experience and particular strengths: his knowledge of construction processes and his ability to manage budgets.
Before adolescence, Paul was a boy soprano with such a powerful voice that, as a party piece, he could shatter wine-glasses with his top C. He'd just begun offering a cost-effective service to the NHS and BUPA - his voice could shatter kidney stones, too - when, sadly, his voice broke.
His lucky tuber is the yam.
Helen Blake | Creative Director
Cornwall-born Helen graduated from Falmouth School of Art and Design in 1989 and has over 20 years' experience in the design industry. She worked in London before returning to Cornwall in 1991 to run her own studio. Helen is a fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, board director of the DBA and chaired The Cornwall Design Forum for 3 years.
If Helen was granted one superhero-power to use for a week she would choose the power of flight (or, if was cold out, the power to turn tapwater into Bollinger).
Her lucky biscuit is the fig roll.
ABSOLUTE GRAPHICS
Andrew Purnell | Designer
Andrew's packed plenty of wide-ranging experience into the last six or so years, both in-house and freelance. In his various roles he's worked for global names (Toshiba, Reebok, Absolut) as well as younger, cutting-edge new brands (Killer Tomato, Benji Boko, Glo).
Andrew's so keen on pot-holing he's checked his ancestry for any trace of miners, or moles. He'll happily spend the most of a weekend in cramped and watery dark spaces under Dartmoor, and, once a month, he volunteers for London Underground and chases mice off the tracks by shouting.
His lucky sugar is soft brown demerara..
Tom Bourne | Designer
Tom's a young graphic designer beginning to make his way in the business, and he comes to us a couple of years after graduating from University College Falmouth, since when he's developed a portfolio impressive enough for us to give him a desk and a Mac.
Owing to a genetic quirk, when Tom tries to whistle he produces the high-pitch buzz of a mosquito. His scores in junior sheepdog trials in his native Derbyshire were terrible, but he can have strangers slapping their own necks in minutes and clear a café terrace on the Med in no time at all.
His lucky cow is the Danish Red.
Liz Hassell | Project Assistant
Liz has been at Absolute since 2002; not long ago she switched from reception to working in the studio, where her role is to support the design team, making sure purchasing is competitive and deliveries on time.
Liz is one of only a few score people left worldwide who can speak the ancient Norse Bröskbrad dialect. They have reunions annually, but Liz no longer attends: the dialect is limited in scope, has 23 words for skirmish, 17 for brawl and habitually ends with the emergency services in attendance.
Her lucky tool is the lump-hammer.
Emily Grove | Project Assistant
Either side of a stint as a Visual Merchandise Manager for Habitat, Emily studied both Fine Art (before) and Design (after). After freelancing for various organisations, she became Hobbs' In-house Graphic Designer. Eventually, however, the lure of Cornwall became irresistible, and she crumbled and moved down ...
The circus has been in Emily's family for generations. Her earliest memory is of her grandmother crossing Cheddar Gorge on a tightrope by unicycle and, although she's chosen a different path, Emily can still, if required, subdue an angry male lion with just a chair, a whip and a shiny top-hat.
Her lucky era is the Paleolithic.
ABSOLUTE INTERIORS
Stuart Watt | Senior Interior Architect
Stuart's from Scotland and, having graduated in Industrial Design from Napier University, Edinburgh, he set about acquiring interior design experience on a diverse range of projects, from Yo! Sushi to work on bespoke sculptural staircases.
As a young interior designer, Stuart would supplement his income by writing romantic fiction underthe pseudonym Chantelle Fontaine. The 'Crumpled Silk' series won second place in the 1997 Lilac Nib Awards; a young Angelina Jolie was set to star in the film adaptation, until her Lara Croft role put an end to such plans. Turns out Kate Winslet was busy, too.
His lucky paint is gloss.
Callum Wason | Architectural designer
Callum's accumulated lots of experience since graduating in 2005, picking up valuable expertise in diverse sectors, from large homes and barn conversions to holiday apartments, commercial projects, showrooms and housing schemes. He manages the structural side of projects and handles planning and building regulations.
Callum's affinity with horses makes for a fulfilling hobby and useful second income. As well as being a locally-renowned 'horse-whisperer', he's known for his party-piece of successfully completing show-jumping courses in reverse, facing the wrong way in the saddle.
His lucky river is the Orinoco.
Ally Turner | Interior Designer
After graduating from Falmouth in 2006, Ally spent four years as a commercial interior designer in London, where she built up not just a great deal of experience, but an awful lot of expertise, too, in environmentally-conscious design.
Apart from design, Ally's great passion is bread. Her first job was curator at the Pangbourne Museum of Bread, her crusty cobs have twice won 'Silver Loaves' at the prestigious National Bread Awards, and she's been commissioned to create a quarter-size replica of Eden's biomes from organic granary dough for London 2012's ambitious 'Breadland' project.
Her lucky bird is the starling.
Fay Freeman | Interior Designer
Fay's returned home to Cornwall after a long stint in London, and her varied 15 years' experience includes Luxury Yachts, Underwater Spas, Eco Resorts as well as Public Spaces and Residential.
On a school zoo trip, Fay was bitten by a chameleon, since when she's been able to blend effortlessly into her surroundings. This can prove useful (she 'became' a hat-stand when armed robbers stormed a hat-shop where she was browsing), but troublesome, too (she was such a convincing tree on a works paint-balling trip her colleagues went home without her).
Her lucky Renault is the Clio.
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