Beth and Alexander of FORM Brands Studio on balancing work, marriage and kids

In the heart of trendy Leytonstone in east London, a creative agency is making waves in the branding world. Founded in 2022 by the husband-and-wife team of Alexander and Beth Andlaw, FORM Brands Studio has just turned two years old.

One thing that sets the studio apart is the blend of skills the pair bring to the table. Alex, with his background in art and design, brings a keen eye for visual aesthetics and creative problem-solving. Beth, with her expertise in communications and PR, ensures that every brand they create has a clear, compelling story to tell.

This combination allows FORM Brands Studio to help forge brands that not only look great but communicate effectively. "Too often, we've seen businesses handed a great brand identity but left struggling to explain it," says Beth. "That's something we set out to change with our approach."

As they celebrate their second anniversary, we chatted with Beth and Alexander about how things have gone since the launch, as well as some of the highlights.

Joining forces

Our first question is obvious: why did they start the studio? "We'd spoken about joining forces for about 10 years," says Alexander. "During the lockdowns, working on our individual clients at home, we saw a lot more of what each other did on a day-to-day basis. And we realised that our worlds are even more connected than we had already realised. We thought the transition of working together would actually be reasonably straightforward. And so far, so good."

The specific motivation to start FORM, though, was the sudden and sad loss of Alex's dad, Robert. "He'd always run his own business, was a huge inspiration to us and supported our vision to do the set-up on our own," says Beth. "Alex showed Robert the name and logo when he first became poorly, and there was no going back from there. It was a bit of a 'life's too short' moment. Something positive had to come from something so difficult, and that became our driving force."

But there's never an easy time to launch a business, and so it proved here. "It was just before having our second child, with a two-year-old already in the mix," says Alexander. "When our son, Arlo, was born, Beth was off work completely for six months, and I also took time off. We were lucky to have some wonderfully understanding clients while we found our feet."

One thing that helped was finding a "gorgeous studio space" just 10 minutes' walk away from their home, at Good Shepherd Studios, E11. "It's a place to focus, a place to create and a place to make our own," says Beth. "Arlo soon became known as 'the office baby', joining us in meetings before heading upstairs to the connected community space for a baby activity or group. This location was really our lifesaver in those first few months and continues to give us the best balance of both worlds."

Work vs home

Another challenge for the couple has been dividing their time between home and work. "Beth is a natural early bird, and I'm a night owl," says Alexander. "And so when the kids are in bed, it's hard not to flip into work mode."

But while the couple might both individually work on something during those productive hours, they've learned to respect each other's natural rhythms. "So if one of us feels productive outside the 9-5, we'll work on individual tasks without pulling the other in. This approach has been key to maintaining our productivity and personal well-being."

Of course, the financial challenge of going it alone added to all this. "When we started, it was hard to get people to commit to budgets, and those budgets were often challenging," says Beth. However, those early clients got us going, and we are eternally grateful to them. Doing all the client work ourselves was fulfilling, but it left little time to focus on scaling the business. It felt like we were caught in a never-ending cycle of doing without growing."

The biggest challenge overall, though, was learning how to actually run the business. "We were comfortable managing branding projects, of course, but the day-to-day demands of running a company were a whole new ball game," says Beth. "In the beginning, we made mistakes: undercutting costs, taking on jobs with budgets that were too tight, and not having the right support to share the load."

Relationship dynamics

So, how has the dynamic of being a husband-and-wife team shaped the way they run the studio? "We feel fortunate that we've got very different skills, so there's no danger of one of us trying to take charge of the other; that just wouldn't work!" says Alexander.

"We know each other's strengths and weaknesses; we don't overlap each other or correct each other. It's reasonably seamless, and clients like the dynamic. We find it fun working together, instinctively understand one another, and have always been a creative sounding board to each other throughout our individual careers."

They have often questioned their timing, though. "Launching a business in the middle of having two children has been intense," notes Beth. Everything is harder with a lack of sleep! We have days where things just don't go to plan with the kids, which ultimately means one of us, or sometimes both, has to step back from work.

"That said, by working for ourselves, we know that we can do that with no questions asked, and that is freeing. We've both seen working parents really feel a lot of pressure when taking time off to help their children or partner, and that's not something we ever have to worry about again."

And here's something that a husband-and-wife team can offer clients: "We talk a lot about the FORM family, and we really mean it," stresses Beth. We work with people who we'd love to host in our home, and so far, that's helped us create cohesive teams who really care about our clients, the work, and each other."

Attracting clients

For a new company, though, finding new business has still been an obstacle. "Initially, figuring out how to get FORM's name out there and build our pipeline felt overwhelming," says Alexander. "We even tried cold calling for a while… let's just say that didn't go well. But then, we started building a network of people who believed in us, and that changed everything. With the right support, new business leads began to come in, and we started to feel more in control."

Transitioning from working with top studios on big projects to running their own business has also been a steep learning curve. "Suddenly, we were wearing all the hats," Beth recalls. "We were handling everything from new business pitches and proposals to budgets, client management, and even the final artwork. It tested us in ways we couldn't have imagined."

But there have been highlights, too, to balance out the stresses. "A key turning point for us was completing our first start-to-finish rebrand," says Alexander. "Seeing how happy the client was at the end of the process gave us a huge confidence boost. It was the validation we needed to believe we could make this dream a reality.

"More recently, we found ourselves pitching creative against a few big agencies – and we won," he adds. "We've just completed a full rebrand, and that was a major milestone for us. Knowing we have what it takes to compete and win, from the initial pitch to the final creative and launch, has been a real boost, acknowledging that imposter syndrome might always linger in the background!"

More recently, they're thrilled about a rebrand that's in the pipeline for an organisation they've worked with for years and feel deeply connected to. "It's a special project, and the pressure is on," says Beth. "It's a great opportunity to really showcase what we can do."

Exciting and terrifying

"Overall, the journey has been exciting and terrifying in equal measure," says Alexander. "Joining forces to support our family through one business has been something that we've questioned the sanity of many times. Ultimately, by working together, we're making the most of our skill sets and passions whilst both being present for our very young children.

"It's been incredibly hard at times," he adds. "But now, two years on, things have started to fall into place. From winning pitches to seeing our work showcased in publications like this one, we have the confidence now to prove we can do this."

That said, there are plenty of things they'd do differently now if they could go back. "One of the big ones would be getting the right people in for new business early on," muses Beth. "We also would have spent more time perfecting our proposals upfront, making sure they were easy to individualise and adapt. In the beginning, we were constantly recreating proposals from scratch, which was time-consuming and inefficient."

Enthused for AI

Now things are going well, though; they're still not resting on their laurels. "We're always on the lookout for tools that can make our work more efficient," says Beth. "Alex is dyslexic and finds AI has been a real game-changer when it comes to writing."

They see the potential for AI imagery in their work, too. "If you can imagine it, you can create it," she stresses. "Recently, we commissioned some 3D letter logo work, and the designer, who integrated AI into the process, was able to complete it in just two days, a task that would have previously taken five."

In short, they believe in embracing AI as part of the creative process. "It's only going to get better, and staying informed and adaptable is essential," reasons Alexander. "For us, it's not about replacing human creativity but enhancing it, allowing us to work smarter and push our ideas further."

Looking ahead, they're eager to bolster their marketing and raise more awareness about FORM. "There's so much more we want to share with the world," says Beth. "We're hoping to grow our team, continue collaborating with the amazing clients we already work with, and help them reach new heights. And, of course, we can't wait to work with even more exciting brands that are making a difference in the world."