SMS news: Parr & Woolford vision, mission Q&A with Adrian Parr

In June 2024, PWP Landscape directors Adrian Parr and Ian Woolford decided to build Parr & Woolford, a new brand and website showcasing the luxury furniture and accessories that form their outdoor designs for clients.

They enlisted Sip Media Solutions’ Managing Editor Simon Wilkes to manage and deliver the project - and here we get the lowdown on the vision and mission for the new brand, which focuses on ‘exterior excellence’.

Parr & Woolford director: Adrian Parr

Adrian did a BA (Hons) degree in Landscape Architecture at Leeds Metropolitan University from 1995-98, then set up Parr & Woolford Partnership with Ian in July 1998.

He then completed a graduate diploma in Landscape Architecture in 1999-2000, working alongside Ian and building the partnership to the point when they created a limited company named PWP Landscape Ltd in 2014.

Q&A with Adrian Parr

Simon: How many staff have you got at PWP Landscape Ltd?

Adrian: Staff wise we are based over two companies, that’s the landscape company which is outside, installing the gardens we design - and inside we’ve got the design team which has got 12 staff. The landscaping team has got 14 staff currently.

Simon: Tell me about what you do on a day-to-day basis?

Adrian: My role these days, after 25 years in the game, is mostly running around and managing sites. I do all the paperwork and spend less time on site with a shovel in hand.

I meet with the clients to ensure we stay on the same page with them. I manage the communications and generally make sure the logistics of each job run smoothly.

Simon: Take us back to the start - what role did you play when it was just you and Ian?

Adrian: That was working in all areas, working 12-hour days at least. We did all the physical work on site, building the projects.

We did all the client communication, all the costing and estimates.

We ordered all the materials, running from builders’ yard to site collecting and obviously installing materials.

We oversaw the design of the jobs, the consultations and meetings with new clients.

So everything really, from first enquiry through to seeing a blank canvas or mature garden, designing it, costing it, building it - and in some cases, maintaining it as well. It was pretty full on.

Simon: What made you want to do this for a living?

Adrian: Both Ian and I are from self-employed backgrounds - our families had their own businesses so I suppose it’s in the blood to a degree.

From a young age I had green fingers and was always interested in gardening - so that, the university course and the self-employed background led me onto setting up our own partnership - that’s where it stemmed from.

Simon: Let’s talk about Parr & Woolford.com, a new website and shop currently being developed in conjunction with Sip Media Solutions and set to launch in summer 2024.

What’s the brand setting out to achieve? What’s the vision and dream on the horizon?

Adrian: We are already running a landscape company which provides this service. We are delivering projects we are designing, building and then accessorising with furniture, planters, parasols, pergolas, firepits, water features and so on - so the service is already there.

I’m very conscious that, in the environment we live in currently, things are moving more digital year by year - and we are a man and barrow service.

There’s an element of ‘how do you make a landscape company into a digital company?’.

So the bigger picture question is - can we develop this service we are already providing into a digital platform that we can then elaborate on? That’s what are planning to create.

Simon: What digital platforms, suppliers and Instagram accounts have you seen that have inspired you?

Adrian: There are hundreds of companies out there doing really high-end brands and really nice landscape-related furniture and planters especially.

You can easily be paying two, three, four grand for an armchair in a garden, that’s really nicely upholstered, made in the UK with all the bells and whistles.

You can get handmade planters, throw-in pots with environmentally-friendly materials and bespoke finishes put on them - again, £1,000 plus, up to £5-6,000 for one pot - and these are products that we are putting into jobs already.

So it’s a case of bringing all these suppliers onto a digital platform that people can land on - and if it’s within their reach, they can either shop on this platform or enquire and contact us via it.

Simon: Tell me about some of the suppliers you work with when designing your projects?

Adrian: One of the planter suppliers that we work with - we’ve got several - are based in the Channel Islands and they are called Torc Pots.

They are a lovely, family-based business and they’ve got a fantastic grown business.

Their products are quite unique and hand made - and they’ve supplied some major events and established premises throughout the UK.

They also ship further abroad, throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

We have dealt with them for years but have already started negotiations about bringing them into this digital platform.

There’s a company called In-Lite who are lighting suppliers, and another one called Collingwood - they both do high-end light fittings that we can dress the garden with for the evening effect.

They’ve obviously got a great array of light fittings that we can offer different options on - and put them all on the digital platform.

For pergolas, Rase Outdoor Living do brustoror pergolas - they again are a bespoke item which you can tailor to your site or project.

Coco Wolf have got some really high-end furniture pieces - there are lots of different suppliers for water features, firepits, laser-cut screens, sculptures - David Harbor sculptures are well known at RHS Chelsea.

We have had early chats with them but there’s nothing formalised yet - hopefully we will be able to display their products on our website and social media channels.

Simon: What’s going to set Parr & Woolford apart from your competitors?

Adrian: There are hundreds of online suppliers doing every type of outdoor furniture, products and accessories - but we don’t want to develop another business that is based on high volume and lots of headaches.

We’d rather deal with the type of customer that we’ve got in the landscape company and the design company, where it is the higher end market that we are dealing with.

It’s lower volume but really nice people to work for, and really nice products that we are installing.

We’re looking to work with companies who work in that realm with the high-end market, who have got really superior products.

We can know the products inside out and deliver fantastic customer service to our clients.

Simon: What are the values that Parr & Woolford hold dear? What are your non-negotiables?

Adrian: You can’t achieve your targets without a good customer base - and customer service is first and foremost for us.

If you haven’t got a top-star rating on whatever platform, you are not going to get the custom.

In our landscape and design business, it’s about delivering reassurance and confidence to the client that you are going to provide a service.

They could go to the suppliers and manufacturers directly by themselves if they wanted to - but we are providing a service that’s turn-key and the only way you are going to sustain a business brand like that is if you have top-notch, 100 per cent delivery.

We want to ensure we maintain that in this new business.

Simon: How does the brand represent itself - what’s the tone of voice?

Adrian: That’s yet to be fully established - but when I’m thinking of Parr & Woolford when it’s an established brand, not just selling products from other manufacturers on a well-serviced website, we will have our own stamp - and a P&W brand or stamp will actually be on products we have developed ourselves.

Then I’m picturing Monaco, super high-end brands, luxury sports cars and yachts - if we can get into that realm, that’s when we have hit my sweet spot.

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