Studio / Dovecote Studio
This is Graft.
Two people, one barn and 55+ years of combined experience. We started Graft so good work would never be someone else's problem to fix.
Gav and Monika
Gav Scothorn
Creative director and co-founder
Gav has been leading design, print and marketing programmes since 1998. He's worked with Nike, HERE Technologies and Shell on B2B and B2C communications: internal, external, digital and brand.
He brings big agency rigour to every job, with the directness that only comes from running your own shop. These days that means brand identities, signage and print, and the websites and CRMs that sit behind them, built on Astro, Shopify and HubSpot, and on the platform we made for our own products.
Worked with / Nike, HERE Technologies, Shell
Monika
Co-founder, brand, interiors and styling
Monika brings 30 years in retail and styling, 18 years in events and hospitality, and 15 years in digital brand management, creation and content. She knows how a brand should look, sound and feel, in the shop, at the event and on the feed, and how to keep it that way as a business grows.
She is also an interior designer and a fashion stylist, so she thinks about the whole experience: the room, the shoot, the outfit and the feed, not just the logo. At Graft she leads brand direction, styling and social, and works directly with clients.
Why we started it.
We've both spent years in agencies. The big ones, the good ones, the ones where brilliant work got buried under layers of process and politics. We know what it looks like when it's done properly, and we know where it goes wrong.
Graft is the version we always wanted to work at. Lean, direct and honest. You get the senior team on your business, every time. Not the pitch team.
We're in the Midlands, and we work with businesses across the UK. Some start with nothing but a name on a napkin. Some have been trading for years and want marketing done properly. Both get the same care.
Dovecote Studio.
The work happens at Dovecote Studio, a converted barn on Wood Lane in Hanbury, a village in Staffordshire a few miles from Burton upon Trent. It's where we design, build and make, and where the proofs, samples and signs end up on the table.
You're welcome to visit. Come and see the work, talk it through over a cup of tea, and meet the people who'll actually do it. Visits are by appointment, so drop us a line first and we'll put the kettle on.
Values / How we work
No middlemen. No messing.
No middlemen.
You'll speak to us directly. Always. We don't have account managers as a buffer, or a junior team doing the graft after you've signed.
Honest advice.
If we don't think something will work, we'll say so. We'd rather lose a brief than take your money for something we don't believe in.
Proper process.
Fast doesn't mean sloppy. We move quickly because we have clear processes, not because we cut corners.
Full commitment.
We work with a small number of clients at a time, so every one of them gets the attention they deserve.
- No account managers. The people you meet are the people who do the work.
- A few clients at a time, so every one gets our full attention.
- Direct access to Gav and Monika. Email or call us, and you'll get one of us.
- A clear, fixed-scope proposal within 48 hours of our first call. No surprises, no scope creep.
- You own everything we make: the brand files, the website, the accounts and the data. Nothing stays in a black box.
Next step
Got something to make?
No pitch deck, no sales team. Just Gav or Monika, a cup of tea and an honest answer. Or email newbiz@graftmarketing.co.uk.