Fika with Robin, founder of Rednine
Where I discover that curiosity is his superpower and Robin realises that creativity and connection are the drivers to propel his business in 2024.
There is significance in the number nine. It’s an unconscious trigger for change. Under the moniker Redbreast Design, Robin started his business 20 years ago, whilst simultaneously running a successful shop in Bath. One funded the other and when Enkla closed its doors during the recession, Redbreast Design evolved into Rednine Design and with it came huge personal and professional shift. So, with 21 years of self-employment and another 9-year cycle almost complete, I sense change.
‘If it doesn’t feel dangerous, you are not standing close enough to the edge’
I had to check myself when I realised that I first met Robin 5 years ago. He was delivering a Rooster Talk at The Glove Factory Studios. When the chairman’s niece prompted him to shout a little more loudly about what Rednine Design offers the world, he stepped up to the plate.
Aware that he had not been giving his own brand enough brand advocacy (not uncommon amongst founders busy in their business) he explained how he had to go through a mindset change when branding Rednine Design, a creative design agency. When he launched the website, he ‘traded the I for WE ‘to give gravitas and had to reframe the way he thought about my business. Operating as an agency in the sense that he collaborates closely with creative partners, ‘in reality, it’s me at a laptop designing and creating’ he says. Testament to his skill and experience, most of his business has come from word of mouth – good people, doing and saying good things.
‘I don’t really know, it just kind of works’.
Metaphorically colliding again during my time at Dorothy House Hospice Care and the Strength in Style fashion show, Robin’s professional relationship with We Get It, the talk therapy charity for those in remission or living with cancer, was born out of his personal generosity.
Where it all started
It all started at Good for Nothing, back in 2017. A community of do-ers, thinkers, makers and creators gifting their skills to grass roots projects designed to change Bath for the better. Laura, founder of We Get It, was one of 10 start-up founders pitching for support. In the wake of just learning his friend had received a cancer diagnosis, Robin handed Laura a business card and they have worked together ever since. You can hear more about that story at The Good Journey podcast here.
It’s these little acts of kindness that lie at the centre of his business philosophy – people sharing, people caring. Over Fika, I quickly realised that Robin is quite the empath. Not a core quality I was expecting in a founder, but not at all surprising when you hear Robin’s story.
Tearing up more than once during our coffee date, he recounted the winding path and the professional encounters that have brought him to where he stands today – on the precipice of change and an exciting extended offering that will enable him to develop more meaningful relationships with clients, and evolve his passion for visual brand storytelling.
‘Brands are just stories. They live in our minds’
Robin has walked the corridors of Buckingham Palace, sparked joy inside Asia and created visual identities that turn heads in tech, finance and wealth management. Most recently he has found himself aligned with compassionate communities, guiding the brand storytelling for Cerebral Palsy Cymru, Charlie Waller Trust and Trauma Breakthrough.
We quickly get onto the topic of story spines and the key elements of a good story - light and dark, the villain and underdog, journeying through a challenge. Then we move a little deeper. Having shared how Rednine became the wrapper for his years of professional practice, I prompt - ‘let’s go a little further back, to your origin story?
Where it really began
Rednine Design didn’t really start at Good For Nothing. It started half a century earlier. The only child of a single parent, Robin learnt from an early age to please and appease. He understood it as the ticket to love. Unwittingly abandoning his own needs to serve the needs of others, he navigated childhood and adolescence by avoiding conflict and clear of disapproval. He kept the peace. Because if you keep other people happy, it means they will love you. His stepfather the villain, Robin toed the line. Head down at school, his good grades saw him recognised as Deputy Head Boy. At university, bringing home the prettiest girl, marrying the prettiest girl, Robin followed convention. He (thought) he had everything he dreamed of. The cars, the Georgian townhouse, a beautiful wife and beautiful children. But he didn’t have himself.
As he balanced family life, managing his shop and running his design consultancy, a nine year cycle was about to turn. It brought with it the end of Enkla, the end of his marriage and his coming out. He walked away from everything in order to find out who he really is. Wistfully gazing over my shoulder Robin reflects, ‘it’s what I do - I build a life, condense it down, realise I have everything I need, then build it out again’. As the cycle approaches another turn, ‘the danger is I’ll take what I need and run, rather than stay and work out what I must to do to build. I must stop trying to make new places to live and make this space more liveable’.
Curiosity is his superpower
In much the same way he guided Laura find the words to define her brand, it’s Robin’s deep curiosity and skill in directing the conversation that sets him apart. Maybe he is yet to realise that he already has the answers to his own question – where to take his business next?
We speak of clients coming to him with the brief ‘I need to be over there’. He’ll gently interrogate that. ‘But why? Do you really? Maybe that place that you are right now is OK and we just have to model stuff around you to make you feel comfortable where you are. Or change the experience so that you enjoy it. Maybe you just need to unblock – I can help you with that.’
When asked what he believes are the key characteristics for his success, he is clear:
Humility
Honesty
Vulnerability
Robin is at the point in his story where framing Rednine as an agency no longer sits comfortably with him. He wants to be more authentic, cast off the corporate cloak and just be himself. Not quite sure how to explain it, he knows he doesn’t want it to sound or seem ‘small’. He wants his back story to be front of house. He wants to celebrate his strengths and be the conduit to helping others collaborate and celebrate theirs.
Let’s talk Lego.
Robin has an endless list of activities that provide creative nourishment - music, travel, theatre, photography, ceramics and … Lego. When asked how he would spend a free weekend, you’d find him in a pair of joggers, sketching, enjoying the silence and processing his creative thoughts. Playing with Lego. Being mindfully mindless.
image source Lego.com
He firmly believes that the creative process that he goes through to arrive at a creative output is within everyone. He’s currently pulling the legs off it. Twisting and turning that idea into an extended offering.
‘Let’s not judge but celebrate each other and share stories around the campfire.’
Keen to dig deeper and find the self-belief he needs to move forward, he’s taking time to holistically review the direction of Rednine. Peering out of from the cockpit he is facing his fear of not knowing which runway to land on, and enjoying the discomfort. Discomfort means change is imminent. And good things are to come.
What lights his fire
During Fika, its abundantly clear to me that Robin is a people person - warm in spirit and kind of heart. Clearly skilled at building positive relationships, he explains that once he feels that positive feedback from a client, the spark is lit, and he burns bright. He is finally in tune with his own needs, having given the needs of others’ priority over his own for so long.
His new story will have the following values at its heart - empathy, creativity & curiosity. Add intuition, skill and passion and sprinkle on humility, honesty and vulnerability and there I believe you have the 9 key ingredients that combine to create the secret sauce for his success.
image credit Leio McLaren via Unsplash
Currently in a holding pattern Robin describes Rednine as an airplane waiting to land. With landing gear extended, he’s waiting for air traffic control to guide him in. But I don’t think he needs them. I believe he already knows which runway he’s heading for. It’s the newly laid one. Where the airstairs are in place. Ready to take him to the arrivals hall where clients old and new wait with eager anticipation and excitement to welcome him home.
Unlocking the power of creativity
Once he’s packaged it up and stuck a label on it, I have no doubt that Robin will no longer be the one behind the scenes, the invisible party planner. He’ll be the host of the party. The theme will be ‘community, creativity, connection’. So, get your sparkles on and be one of the first to join him in the arrival hall when he lands.
With thanks and gratitude to Robin Worrall for his time and good company. And to Wild Herb at the Field Garden at The Glove Factory Studios for a the corner to enjoy Fika. If you are a creative business, start-up or solopreneur, you may be interested in attending a Rooster Talk or about the co-working space at The Glove Factory. And watch this space for news on Rednine & Robin’s forthcoming adventures.
