Wednesday 8 May 2024

Welcome to Walk in My Shoes!

This month, we relaunched Walk In My Shoes, an initiative set up by our CEO Greg Lawson, to provide each Smartie with the opportunity to spend a day in a different role.

Walk In My Shoes

This month, we reintroduced Walk In My Shoes, an initiative set up by our CEO Greg Lawson, to provide each Smartie with the chance to experience a day in the life of their colleagues in a different department. While this programme was initially established a few years back, the recent acquisition of new companies and the dynamic developments within Smart meant that it has been reignited and reimagined better than before for 2024.

Whether someone has dreamt of working alongside the kitchen team prepping exquisite canapés or desserts, or shadowing the Operations team for a day delivering a major sporting event, or even learning about website design with the marketing team, now they have the chance! The first few sessions have taken place this month, so let’s see what our Smarties have been getting up to outside of their day jobs.

Frieda holding bowl of eggs in Moving Venue Kithcen

Frieda and Samantha Joined the Pastry Team!

Our first WIMS session saw Frieda from Smart Live, and Samantha from Story Events step into the shoes of our Pastry team. Starting the day in our pastry kitchen in Deptford, they delved into the intricacies of the craft, observing everything from preparation to packaging, and, of course, the essential tasks such as maintaining the cleanliness of the workspace. As a surprise, they even whipped up some delicious cookies for the Smart AGM! In the afternoon, in an impromptu twist, they made their way to Last Supper, where they witnessed the behind-the-scenes of a major event tasting.

“Thank you so much for letting us participate in WIMS yesterday – it was such a great experience, honestly.

Sarah, you taught us a lot, your team were phenomenal and I can’t wait to have the chance to join you in the kitchen again soon. Please send our thanks to the guys and I really hope the guests at Evolution enjoyed their desserts last night 😊 Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity”

Samantha Holman, Story Events

Annabel Joined the Kitchen Team!

Annabel, Managing Director of Smart Live, immersed herself in the life of the Kitchen team over at our Bermondsey site, learning all about event preparation and the processes it takes to bring an event together. Annabel ended the day over at Kensington Palace, where she supported the chefs on the relaunch event for The Orangery!

It was a great day! Thank you so much Alistair for taking the time to talk me through everything you and the team do to prepare for an event and the processes it takes. I always had huge respect for the chefs but the level of detail it takes to get it right, totally amazing. Being both over at Bermondsey and then over at Kensington Palace, it was great to see everything from (almost) start to finish.

Annabel De Souza, Smart Live

Becs joined the Evolution London team!

Becs from Smart Live spent the day over at Evolution London experiencing all that’s involved in a build day for the Sports Industry Awards, an annual fixture in our calendar! Her day involved overseeing the build, from setting up stages and lighting rigs to ensuring every detail aligned with the vision of the event. Although Becs is already accustomed to witnessing the transformation of venues for events such as this, she learnt all about the nuances of our flagship venue, Evolution London, and the behind-the-scenes magic of bringing such a blank canvas venue to life.

Thanks so much for organising this – I had such a great day and learned loads!

Becs Stitt, Smart Live

Liv Joined the Story Team!

Last week Liv Parrott our Senior Venue Sales Manager, had a busy day with the Story Events team. Starting off the day with a client site visit at Old Billingsgate, Liv then got to join a briefing call with a designer for a new pitch, proofread some proposals, and work on a venue search for an exciting new brief!

A jam-packed day! It was so fab, and the Story team looked after me very well and created a fantastic itinerary. Thank you, team Story; for letting me walk in your shoes💗

Liv Parrott, Senior Venue Sales Manager