They say it’s a small world and it is indeed. I was doing the normal and perusing Facebook a few months back when a photograph popped up that an old school friend had posted of her and her husband collecting an award. But it wasn’t just any award. It was only the World Super Yacht Awards 2018, where my old school friend, Gem, from 26 years ago and her husband John Vickers of Vickers Studio had picked up the award for Displacement Motor Yachts Below 500GT – 30m to 39.9m for their design of Delta One! To say I was surprised that somehow we had ended up in the same industry after all this time was an understatement, but more than that, I was thoroughly proud and in awe that they were not only in the industry I love so much, but as a small independent design agency, that they were up there with the heavy hitters, knocking them out of the ballpark. So I decided it was time to rewind 26 years and give John and Gem Vickers a call to see what was happening. And so it was they told me their story, their ethos and what they have been up to as Vickers Studio.
For almost 20 years, John has refined his visual sense of good design, materials, light, careful colour balance and a love for detail and proportion. Growing up by the sea on Hayling Island, with a degree in product design, a professional sailor for a sister, parents who met on the beach and also as a qualified Yacht-Master, John progressed naturally into yacht design, the sea and salt being very much in his bones.
At Redman Whitely Dixon John learned to draft, design and project manage interior and exterior designs for industry classics, such as the 55.5m Feadship M.Y ‘Twizzle’ and 155m Lurssen M.Y. ‘Al Said’. He then moved to set up the luxury yacht department at property designers Candy & Candy, where the 62m Motor Yacht Candyscape II went on to win the coveted World Superyacht Award for Best Motor Yacht, with special mention for interior design. Following that, he spent 6 years as a senior designer at Terence Disdale, where he worked on the world’s most prestigious interior and exterior design projects, as well as completing designs for a private jet and interior architecture. John then returned as a director to his first yacht design firm RWD before setting up Vickers Studio in January 2015.
Gem’s background is very much in Art and Design, in fact when I met her back when we were doing our A’levels and were on the same drama course I remember her spending hours in the art studio earning herself a distinction at the end of the two years. She went on to do some short courses at prestigious Central St. Martins and Slade, before finally spending years selling mixed media paintings in affluent Mayfair. After a chance meeting in a bar, where they both discovered to their amusement that they both had a design studio in their back garden, not an everyday occurrence, there was no looking back.
From chatting to them on the phone, despite not being in the same room it is easy to feel the partnership between these two, who are both so comfortable and quick to laugh, and it is no wonder they are able to put their clients at such ease, and how their combined talents have put Vickers Studio firmly on the map. It can’t always be easy, with juggling two delightful children and travelling all over the world to satisfy their clients needs, but with two Neptunes under their belt, the last one this February and the perfect way to celebrate their anniversary, plus a host of World Superyacht Awards they are clearly doing something right, so I ask them what their secret is.
The answer: they give a full uncompromising service with the client at the heart of everything they do. From sketches to delivery, Vickers Studio takes their client’s inspiration as a start point, and in the spirit of close collaboration, they develop the concept and the detail needed to complete their client’s dream. By generating creative solutions and tailoring the design process to each project’s requirements, the studio ensures that its clients are inspired and thrilled with the results.
Their skills and understanding of a yacht’s design inform all their decisions, as, together with their clients, they create beautifully sculpted exteriors with well laid out interiors. Taking inspiration from the client’s sense of style, from design classics and the beauty of the natural world, they shape the project, meeting regulations and functions of the layout. The interior spaces are created using sketches and material selections to form luxury living spaces for the client’s comfort. Following this, technical construction drawings and 3D computer visuals are built up to present the design, before commencing the production process.
To ensure the final product is to the highest standard, they complete furniture detailing, art commissioning and lighting design. Gem’s eye for perfection means she closely monitors and follows the production of this creative work, seeing it through to completion..
Using joinery and materials they create feelings of refined comfort which enables their clients to love their environment rather than just like it. They create visual links to a client’s personal story. For example, a recent launch had classical automotive details subtly woven into the joinery, completely personalising their yacht’s design.
It’s not just their clients noticing them either, they are now being mentioned in the same breath of some really quite impressive industry legends. John tells of a photoshoot for Boat International that happened after the awards ceremony up in the mountains of Cortina and there were a few names that you may have heard of… Phillipe Starck, Tim Heywood, Terence Disdale and Dickie Bannenberg. John speaks of them with an almost palpable reverence and that is what is instantly likable about this couple, despite working on some of the world’s most impressive boats, gathering armfuls of awards and rubbing shoulders with some of the industry’s juggernauts, they are completely humble and grounded. I can’t wait to catch up with them on their boat on the Thames, over a bottle of Prosecco, to hear more about what the future holds for Vickers Studio. Cheers Vickers!!!!
By Victoria Pearce
Vickers Studio
11 Port House
Plantation Wharf
Battersea
London SW11 3TY
United Kingdom
t: 0044 203 405 8620
As designer then director at Redman Whiteley Dixon
155m Motor Yacht ‘Al Said’ World’s second largest private yacht by volume
55.5m Motor Yacht ‘Twizzle’ World Superyacht awards: Best Superyacht
As Candy & Candy Yacht Department Head
62m Motor Yacht ‘Candyscape II’ World Superyacht awards: Best Superyacht
As a senior designer at Terence Disdale Design
Private Jet – Bombardier Global 5000
81m Motor Yacht ‘Kibo’
World Superyacht awards: Best overall design, interior & exterior
81m Motor Yacht ‘Romea’
