Bespoke Careers celebrates 10 years in Sydney

Bespoke Careers is delighted to be celebrating its 10th anniversary in Sydney this November with a rooftop party at The Old Clare Hotel following another successful year. Dedicated to the architecture and design industry, we started out in Sydney back in 2009, launching with a rooftop party for our clients and acquaintances which has now become an annual tradition.  

Recipe for success

Headquartered in London, Bespoke Careers was founded in 2004 by fully qualified British architect Lindsay Urquhart who, having worked in practice for a number of years and gained experience in recruitment, felt there was a better way to do things. She made herself a promise; her business would always put people first and do whatever possible to help them achieve their goals – this remains at the core of the business today. 

Bespoke Careers has since gone from strength-to-strength and now has offices in London, Sydney, Melbourne, New York and Los Angeles, with a global reach that is unique in terms of specialist architectural recruitment companies. Lindsay and her team have assisted some of the world’s most revered practices in sourcing exceptional talent and have helped thousands of other architects and designers shape their careers.

So, what has been the key to our success? All of the offices are run by qualified architects who have worked in practice, with the majority of consultants also qualified architects and designers. At Bespoke, we also meet with all job seekers to review their portfolio, fully understand their skill sets and get to the heart of their career aspirations. This means we can empathise with our clients and candidates and truly understand what they are looking for. 

It's no accident that at Bespoke we choose to locate ourselves in the world's most creative cities. This is where the talent is and that's what we thrive on. The head office is located in Clerkenwell, London – opposite Grimshaw’s office and around the corner from Hawkins\Brown, the area has more architects per square meter than anywhere else in the world. Being in the thick of it was a deliberate move. It’s a strategy replicated in all our other office locations too - we mapped out where the practices are and then based ourselves nearby to make it easy for people to visit us.

10 years at the heart of Sydney's A+D community

Sydney was the first of Bespoke’s international offices – it was set up by Krista Shearer, Managing Director, who had worked with Lindsay in the London office for a number of years before deciding to return home to Australia and strategically locate the office in Surry Hills, the design and architecture hub of Sydney. 

With a positive and hands-on attitude, unique vision and understanding of the company, Krista continues to lead the office today.  Krista Shearer, MD, says “We are proud to be celebrating 10 years at the heart of Sydney’s architecture and design community. Knowing that we have helped so many architects and designers find their ideal role and design studios find their ideal employees is what drives us day in, day out. A love for architecture and design is at the heart of everything we do. We are not just servicing the industry but are truly a part of it.”

Lindsay Urquhart, CEO, adds “When Krista first told me she wanted to relocate back to Australia back in 2008, I saw it as a great opportunity to open our first international office with someone I trusted and respected, whilst also retaining the strength of the Bespoke culture. Krista has since taken the Sydney office from strength to strength which now has a dedicated team of 20 staff. I look forward to joining the team (and our clients and friends) for the 10th anniversary celebrations. Here's to the next 10 years!”