Article
| Jake Hudson-Wood 
Barns Bulletin #1
Work experience: Freestylin' for a week
After a week at The Barns, work experience student Ellie gave her insight into life at Freestyle.
Welcome to the first edition of the Barns Bulletin, a monthly update of some of the things going on at Freestyle. It’s been a busy September at the Barns, the nights are drawing in, any remnants of summer sunshine are disappearing and winter is well and truly coming. But at Freestyle, we’re not settling down with a cup of warm cocoa just yet; we've had a string of events, started new projects and even refreshed the office a bit.
This series is about celebrating our values and pushing us to be better. So if you’re interested in seeing how we progress and what we like doing when we’re not busy on projects, keep on reading.
Be better than yesterday.
September came with the addition of the highly anticipated ‘Wallboard’. A giant display full of handy apps and tools to make everything in the office more interactive, from tea round roulette to live news updates. So far, the most entertaining feature is the “who’s in” app, essentially Find My Freestylers, telling us exactly who is in the building and even which room they are currently in.
Create success.
We've been working with The Caravan and Motorhome Club (CAMC) on their new brand, but this month we are thrilled to announce that since mid-September we have officially become the digital agency for CAMC, picking up their website www.caravanclub.co.uk and roadmap for future development.
Inspire someone.
Another feature of the Wallboard that has been inspiring us is the Freestyle Fight Club. Don’t worry it’s not as violent as it sounds, the FFC is our office-wide leaderboard showing who in the office is being most active. This way, those of us who are more athletically inclined can get some kudos for our efforts; be them lunchtime runs, afternoon office pilates, or an evening workout. The aim is to promote an all-together healthier workplace and also have a bit of fun in the process!
Enjoy the experience.
In June we cheered on the Women's Cycling Tour of Britain as they whizzed past our offices, but this month it was Men’s turn! We took a break from our developing and client meetings and took everyone outside to see over a hundred competitors fly by, followed by a convoy of support vehicles, adding a nice bit of afternoon entertainment to our day.
As we’ve had a couple of new Freestylers start/return to the barn, we decided it was time for another Freestyle photoshoot! In our makeshift studio, some took more to the modelling limelight than others, and a few even surprised us by fully releasing their inner Derek Zoolander. The photos came out great and it was so fun there have even been petitions for a reshoot in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!
September 1st was World Beard Day, a global celebration and gathering together of those with beards. So we thought it only fit to celebrate a few of our facial-follicled Freestylers by taking a day to be thankful for our bearded brethren and everything they contribute to our unique culture here at Freestyle, from left to right: Guy, Perry & Phil!
Care.
Every month at the Barns we hold an awards ceremony (with breakfast!) for the Freestyler we feel has gone above and beyond to contribute to our organisation’s goals that month. The winner is presented with a ‘Sheepies’ prize and some even give an acceptance speech! This month’s winner was our developer Perry, who worked his socks off to build an amazing website for new client Avanti in only four weeks, and launch it to coincide with the launch of their HYLAS 4 satellite. Well done Perry! Check out the site here.
Bonus: Most popular social post this month
This candid snap is one of the most popular #dogsoffreestyle, Floyd, who never fails to brighten up the office atmosphere every time he pays us a visit.
To stay updated with Freestyle's day-to-day give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
That's all for this month, see you at the end of October!