Joy Taylor and Claudia Willard, founders of Studio Mōr
Friends turned business partners, Joy Taylor and Claudia Willard began their planting design career with freelance work shortly after completing their garden design course. “We then realised we would like to work together. ” And so, they did.
From friendly introductions at the Yorkshire School of Garden Design to founding a planting design company together, Taylor and Willard welcome Studio Mōr to private clients, landscapers and garden designers.
Founded just a couple of months ago, in June, Studio Mōr is a planting design company eager to work with the industry to deliver bespoke and tailored planting designs. The studio has already enjoyed a busy summer working on a variety of planting projects ranging from country locations to townhouses.
The planting vision
Based in the Yorkshire Dales, Taylor and Willard came up with the name entirely based on their location. Mōr is the old English term for moor, referring to the Yorkshire Moors in which they reside. “We’re surrounded by them, we’ve spent so much of our lives in this sort of landscape. It’s really informed who we are as planting designers and we take a lot of inspiration from the moors,” explains Willard. Based up in the rolling hills of the Dales, the studio also welcomes projects from further afield.
Often described as ‘intuitive’, the pair realise that they have the ability to read a client, their needs and the surrounding landscape when it comes to planting design:
“We’re able to pick up on subtle cues of a client and identify their vision.”
The Studio Mōr founders recognise the time they are willing to put into planting design. Joy and Willard dedicate themselves to constant learning and updating of their plant knowledge by visiting contemporary gardens around the country and overseas. The pair want to translate learnt planting knowledge to their industry clients to enhance outdoor spaces. “We’re here to make our clients’ lives easier,” they agree.
The Mōr process
As the climate warms, research trips are important for Taylor and Willard. Not only does this ignite inspiration for future projects, but travelling to the warmer areas allow the pair to explore climate resilient plants they can bring back to the UK as England experiences warmer temperatures. Willard adds:
“Our climate in the north is heating up, so it’s something we need to take into consideration. We’re bringing those combinations back and then seeing how we can adapt them for our landscape, our client and our weather conditions.”
Studio Mōr’s planting design service is offered in two stages. Firstly, it offers a concept led guide that includes mood boards, planting themes and curated planting list which is known as The Plant Book. Next, the second step in the process leads to The Planting Design Book is a technical planting plan that is constructed to be used by landscapers before installing the plants. Taylor and Willard reiterate that their services are bespoke and curated to guide every client from concept to installation. “We’re not just one size fits all, or we really, we really care, and we really think about what we’re doing,” explains Taylor.
The founders look forward to meeting new clients as they embark on this new journey. Find out more about Studio Mōr.
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