Our First Move

A week after the big from the basement to central Leeds

In 2016, the studio was set up in the basement at home. What began as a practical, tentative solution became the base for the next two and a half years. It was convenient, kept costs contained, and allowed the studio to take shape without overextending resources. At the same time, its limitations required a certain inventiveness. Without the space to do everything in one place, I worked with other organisations, used borrowed spaces, and formed relationships to make things possible. Many of the studio’s early connections grew out of that period of working around constraints.

In April 2019, we moved into larger premises in central Leeds. This move was intended as a temporary step, and it became an 18-month stint of what felt like camping out - a studio that was functional, but still in flux. Being in the city centre allowed us to move closer to what we’d been working towards: shared resources, learning at greater scale, and wider networks. It also brought new challenges into view. As the studio grew, so did the complexity of what needed attention. Scaling up didn’t just expand opportunities; it also amplified pressures.

& 4 weeks later… the ware trucks are filling up fast.

Looking back, if I have any regrets from this period, it’s probably not making the move out of the basement sooner. The home studio was supportive in many ways, but with hindsight, the shift into a shared, public space accelerated progress that would have been useful earlier. At the same time, moving into a larger studio also changed the balance of how we worked. Operating from one central space meant fewer reasons to move outward, which came with both gains and losses.

What I valued most about the central Leeds studio was how collaborative it became. Fitting out the space wasn’t something I did alone. We commissioned new studio furniture, looking for pieces that were robust, adaptable, and able to move as the studio evolved. Ware trucks and workbenches were designed to be sturdy enough for daily use, but flexible enough to be reconfigured as ways of working changed. Keeping the studio open plan, with most elements on wheels, was a deliberate choice - a way of resisting fixed solutions too early.

That period also marked a shift in how the studio functioned. From fabricating furniture to bringing people in to help run and deliver workshop, the studio became less individual and more collective. It was a transition shaped through use rather than planning - learning what the space needed by working within it.

Neither move was about arriving at a finished version of the studio. Each was a response to the conditions at the time, creating space to test, adjust, and move again when needed. That approach continues to shape how Sunken Studio develops: attentive to context, open to change, and built through a series of small, considered decisions.