FEATURE
WANDERER ’ S RETURN
Team game – the Wander Films crew are settling in to their new home at Albert North after they became the latest firm to join the bustling business hub .
Occupying two floors of a former derelict listed building , Wander Films ’ new premises are the culmination of the short-term dreams of directors Chloë Clover and Lou Tonner .
After a long and frustrating search , the company , formerly housed in Middlesbrough ’ s Boho 5 , found the Jomast property in nearby Albert Road and spent six months having it refitted to suit their unique style and growing workforce .
With an interior created by Peter Turner of Teesside commercial and residential designers Cocoon and Bauer , it ’ s trendy and arty , with splashes of Wander ’ s trademark orange and blue punctuating the predominantly black walls .
The building also importantly ticks all the boxes needed by an ever-growing video production and content marketing company . They are currently a team of 16 , but have space for 32 .
“ We wanted to stay in Boro , that was really important to us , but we needed somewhere with access for us to get our huge amounts of kit in and out , and space for us to grow ,” says Clover .
“ When we saw this building , even though it was unloved and had suffered a fire in the past , we could see the huge potential .”
Peter Turner saw it too , creating mood boards and designs which immediately captured Lou and Clover ’ s hearts . “ He just got us ,” says Lou . The transformation process began in December 2021 , and as well as soundproofed rooms for editing , a second floor housing the finance and admin departments and a purpose-built studio , there are touches which reflect Wander ’ s unique style .
Wander Films unveils new state-of-the-art workspace
“ Jomast were proper ace , too – they really supported our visions and went to the next level to give us the perfect space ,” Lou added .
Clover said : “ We have a theatre style seating area and projector screen where training sessions can happen , a kitchen , a board room and a breakout breakfast bar – we really want to create a social environment for the team and friends of Wander .”
Because the building will house a lot of kit , no expense has been spared on security and infrastructure .
“ It ’ s a bit Mission Impossible ,” laughed Lou .
“ We ’ ve even got panic alarms ! Our storage has increased by 132TB , too . All of the IT was sourced and installed by iStation . I don ’ t know how we would have managed without their support . They really have gone above and beyond .” A set-up such as this can ’ t be cheap . Lou and Clover have used company funds along with a grant from the Tees Valley Business Growth Fund which supports SMEs in the Tees Valley to grow their business . This was accessed via Nudl , a local company which helps businesses secure funding . They see it as an investment into an area which is buzzing !
“ We ’ ve been waiting a really , really long time for this ,” said Clover .
WORDS : JULIE BURNISTON
“ It ’ s exciting but a little scary – a bit like moving from your mam ’ s house into your own and having to pay your own bills ! When you ’ re in a serviced office the landlord deals with all those things . Now we have to remember all the little things like ….”
“… toilet paper !” laughed Lou . “ And soap dispensers .”
Wander has used local companies throughout the redevelopment , including J & B Recycling for the waste and recycling collections and Durata for the UPS . The specialist support from Durata means if there ’ s a power cut , production can continue without disruption .
“ It ’ s important that we weren ’ t using big national companies and that we used Teesside-based companies , because that ’ s because that ’ s who we are ,” added Clover .
“ People might question why we want to be here on this particular spot on a busy road in the heart of Boro , but this is home , this is where we want to be .
“ I genuinely think that Middlesbrough is booming and it ’ s on a journey to do something really special , and it will be a destination place .
“ If we can be part of that , then that ’ s pretty cool .”
wander-films . co . uk
70 | Tees Business