I’ve taken a little hiatus on the ol’ Lockdown Journals front this week but I’m back on the blog today, and I am super pleased to welcome Adam Crohill of Frank Design to the blog for the next instalment. I was fortunate enough to work with Adam last month on my new logo and I can wholeheartedly recommend his services!

So, a little bit about Adam. He co-founded UK wedding planning resource, Rock My Wedding, back in 2009 - which has since been recognised as “The most influential brand in the wedding industry.” After RMW was sold in 2019, Adam has now set up a new venture and is flying solo!

“2020 changed my perspective on life and I want to keep FRANK small and enjoy a better work / life balance. Small means fewer projects running simultaneously and a focus on the design disciplines I really enjoy. Namely; Brand Strategy, Web design, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and commercial photography.”

Without further ado, Adam it’s over to you…

1 So, let’s talk about life in lockdown. What time do you get up? What’s your morning routine? Has this changed since working from home / being in lockdown?

Let’s make one thing clear, I’m not a morning person and I’m certainly not joining the 5am club any time soon… Wake up time is dictated by my son, Toby who is 20 months old and doesn’t yet appreciate the beauty of a lie in. On a work day I’m back from the nursery run by 8:45, by then the caffeine has kicked in and I’m ready to go.

2 How do you remain motivated while working from home?

I’ve split my time between office and home working for the last 10 years, so I’m no stranger to working from home. Like everyone I think, I miss the human interaction of an office environment or meeting clients. All the “important” stuff gets done over zoom but it’s easy to forget or overlook the small talk. Casual chit chat and banter is what get’s most of us through the day right? So, it’s important to keep that alive. I find Social media or, more often, WhatsApp does the job.

3 Do you listen to any podcasts while working from home?

I generally listen to music when I’m working, that way I can zone in and out without missing out. I do love a Podcast though - for entertainment you can’t beat “The Adam Buxton Podcast”, “Off Menu” or “The Horne Section Podcast”. For work related stuff “Design Matters”, “Business Wars” and “How I Built This” are all great. In lockdown I’ve also been really enjoying the Louis Theroux podcast “Grounded”.

4 Lockdown has impacted businesses all over the world. How can people support you? E.g. #ShopSmallBusiness, sharing a post on FB, commenting on an Instagram post etc.

I co-founded Rock My Wedding in 2009, sold my share of the business in 2019 and continued to work for RMW until November last year, so I witnessed the devastating impact that Corona Virus had on an industry I’d been a part of for over a decade. Starting a new business in lockdown certainly is a challenge, so a follow and a like on Instagram is always welcome @adamcrohill https://www.instagram.com/adamcrohill/ and if you like what you see please spread the word. I would say that 75% of my work comes from recommendations - they are worth their weight in gold.

5 Tell me one local business that you’ve decided to support during lockdown. It could be your local coffee shop, someone who hand-makes masks etc.

I try to support as many local businesses as I can. During lockdown it was really energising to see how some local businesses adapted and carved a new path. One such business was Lumiere https://www.lumiere.cc, an award winning independent restaurant in Cheltenham who started to offer a monthly “at home” menu. The meal comes prepped, part cooked by Lumiere and bundled with simple instructions to “finish off” at home. This really satisfied the occasional craving for a posh night out and made lock down date nights that extra bit special.

6 Tell me your favourite isolation cocktail / snack / treat?

My favourite cocktail is an old fashioned and a fair few were consumed during lockdowns 1 & 2 - a WhatsApp group of friends started a weekly “cocktail off” - images of your creation to be shared by 7pm every Saturday for group critique.

Lockdown 3 has been different, I started off doing dry January and was so taken with the benefits I felt that I’ve kept going and I am now doing dry lockdown. I’m not going to lie, it’s been tough. But that first cold pint of beer garden IPA on April 12th is going to taste even better now.

7 What’s your go-to ‘pick me up’ during lockdown life / working from home?

With my sensible hat on I’d have to say doing a work out is one of the best things I can do to pick myself up. I’ve got a Peloton bike which has been my most treasured lockdown possession, especially over the Winter months. With my sensible hat off though I’d say smashing a whole bag of Haribo Tangfastics in the amount of time it takes to eat a bag of crisps is a great, if short lived, pick me up. Extreme opposite ends of the scale I know, but I’ve come to realise that if you do one often enough you can certainly do the other from time to time.

8 How are you keeping in touch with friends and family?

Zoom was good for a bit. I went quiz crazy like everyone else. But, as I regularly spend 8 hours a day in front of a screen, the novelty wore off fairly quickly. When legal, a walk has been my favourite way to socialise. Also, my WhatsApp friends groups have been awesome. Those WhatsApp conversation threads are to lockdown what Samuel Peeps diary was to the Fire of London.

9 Name one lockdown pet peeve

Anyone who wears them will understand the torment of mask induced steamy glasses, perhaps the very worst of all the first world problems.

10 Name one lockdown love

My Fiat 126. I’m a car nut and I bought this old Fiat in a blind auction back in December 2019. Unwittingly I was teeing up what would become the perfect lockdown passion project. I spent the summer Sundays of 2020 tinkering and cosmetically restoring it. If lockdown continues for another 4 or 5 years I may even get it finished. Come and say hello to @fiat__126 https://www.instagram.com/fiat__126/

11 What do you have in store for your business? What’s got you feeling inspired?

Historically after periods of recession we get a period of growth. I’m hoping the predictions for a “roaring 20s” come true and if that’s the case - I’m here, ready and waiting to build websites, brand businesses and generally get creative.

12 What’s one thing you want to do after lockdown restrictions are lifted?

We’ve booked a cottage in Wales for a week in July. A holiday is going to be amazing!

13 What has been your favourite Netflix series to binge on during lockdown?

Tiger King feels like such a long time ago now doesn’t it? I’ve binged a lot of Hey Duggee in the last 12 months (if you know you know). I arrived late to “The Boys” on Amazon Prime and enjoyed smashing through all 3 seasons in about as many days. The Ozark on Netflix is one of the best things I’ve seen in ages. Also partial to The Crown.

14 Are there any books on your shelf you’d recommend reading during lockdown?

Audiobooks are brilliant - especially an autobiography that’s read by the author, I won’t recommend one as they are so subjective, but they really work in audio format. During lockdown I caught up with a few must reads that passed me by for whatever reason. I’ve just finished “Animal Farm” and next on the list is “Brighton Rock”. So, I guess my recommendation is to read the books that you know you should have read already.

15 What will you take from lockdown? Is there anything you’re grateful for or that you’ll do differently going forward?

Lockdown changed my perspective on life. It made me address my work / life balance so now I spend more time with the people I love and more time doing the things I love. It’s also made me love my work again. I’m going to take all that with me once we come out of lockdown. 2020 was a very dark cloud for a lot of people and I’m very lucky and privileged to have a silver lining.

16 Describe lockdown for you in three words. (E.g. life-changing, emotional, challenging).

Reflective… Testing… Deliveroo.