CREATIVE ROOTS: A RETURN TO NORTH WALES
Returning to North Wales has undoubtedly been the best decision we've ever made, as creatives, and as a family. It has enabled us to use our talents, given us a true sense of belonging, and allowed us to live an adventurous life with our young family. In just two short years, the way our lives have been transformed has been huge. With the formation of YOKE in 2021, our passion for working creatively with local businesses and encouraging a vibrant creative community, has become a reality that we feel fortunate to be a part of.
Passion and Pursuit of purpose
I’m James, co-founder of Yoke Creative Agency. Originally from Old Colwyn but moved away in the mid ‘90s. I’ve always loved music and started writing, recording, and performing in my early teens. I played in a band at high school and then had local success with my first band, Wild Orchid, in the early ‘90s. In 1996, I left North Wales and moved to Manchester and then London to pursue a career in music.
These were some fun years that were filled with rock and roll stories which I won’t go into now! They were also tough years. With getting so close and having glimpses of success, you open yourself up to massive disappointments - but ‘what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger’. Let’s just say it didn’t go exactly how the fortune teller said it would, but I wouldn’t give up.
Then out of the blue, during a tour with my band Nutonic in 2003, the stars aligned, and I met my wife Madeleine in her hometown of Hastings. A meeting that changed my course. Madeleine & I spent many years in living in London together, where Madeleine studied Illustration at Middlesex University. This time was filled with highs and lows as we both continued to hone our skills. After graduating, and winning 1st prize in the D&AD Awards, Madeleine went on to work with clients such as Skype, Howies, EE, and American Express (but to name a few) for London agencies.
I continued to write, record, and tour with various line-ups. Some of our highlights included supporting Gary Moore/Thin Lizzy at the 'Dublin Point’, coming 1st in a Kerrang battle of the bands competition (with a 4 out of 5 Ks for our EP) and playing with ‘Puddle of Mudd’ at The Mean Fiddler. We also spent five seasons playing venues around the French Alps. This was all great fun, and the band were all close friends and we had a huge bond, which we still hold today. We all wanted to make our passion of music a career, but in all honesty for us, it wasn’t sustainable.
I then shifted my focus and passion towards the studio side of things, with music and video production. I’d been refining these skills for many years whilst promoting our own band, now it was time to use them in a broader sense. I became fascinated with creating music videos and composing film soundtracks. The impact that music has on a film, and vice versa, is a powerful thing and something that really satisfies me creatively. Madeleine and I collaborated on various events and projects during this time, which laid the foundation for what we do today!
A Creative Drought and the Call of North Wales:
In 2011 we started a family, and Madeleine made the decision to freelance from home to be with our two boys during their early years. It wasn't easy juggling work, young children, and having no family nearby for support.
Madeleine ended up working on some of her biggest projects so far as a solo designer, with significant commissions for charity CW+ to create digital illustrations that adorned the walls of London hospitals. She also had a high-profile book design for Tracy Chevalier (Author of Girl with a Pearl Earring).
In 2015, we moved to Northamptonshire. Madeleine continued to freelance as a designer, and set up a business selling illustrated goods. I continued to pursue music and video production. However, our creative freedom started to diminish, and we had to do less and less creative work to keep a roof over our heads. This coupled with a period of personal health problems I had, left us feeling frustrated and disconnected from our creative callings.
2020 ON THE MAP
Then 2020 arrived, the year that changed everything for everyone. Like many others during the pandemic, we re-evaluated our lives. It was time to take the leap! We woke up creatively, and could envision a new life in Wales, but we were not sure how it could happen. We yearned for a freer and more adventurous life, for ourselves and for our children. So Madeleine and I started collaborating on projects more frequently. Although the economic uncertainty affected everyone, deep down, we felt that if we took a leap of faith, things would be alright. So we did it. In 2021, we sold our house in Northamptonshire and returned to North Wales.
The Birth of YOKE:
To some, our decision might have seemed crazy, moving far away from our work connections with no guarantee of financial stability. However, what followed was incredible. A short time after moving back, we had the opportunity to work together on a short animation for Podcaster Rick Flatt. Then, a promotional video at the dramatic ‘South Stack Lighthouse’ for local North Wales company Oakwill Flooring. From there, YOKE was born!
The name came about over a WhatsApp conversation between friends of ours, Mark & Rick - fellow creatives. We wanted the name to represent our values - working together to make things that seem impossible, happen. Like positivity, creativity is contagious - we believe we were all born to be creative in some way. We should help and encourage each other to find our creative paths to make for a better society.
WHY YOKE?
Back to the WhatsApp conversation - on Rick’s list was the word Yoke. Some may think of a yoke as a burden, but it’s not a negative thing. A yoke was used to distribute the weight of large loads across two or more animals or people. To get big things moving. Making impossible tasks possible.
It's funny to think that we hadn't formed Yoke earlier in our careers, but now we were back in my hometown of Old Colwyn, and the projects kept coming. It just felt right.
We dedicated ourselves to building our brand, while also promoting local talent through our Yoke Feature Friday. In this feature, we showcased individuals who were passionate about their creativity, providing a brief 60-second insight into their work and what inspired them. From there, amazing things started to happen. Opportunities arose, connections with the people we worked with grew stronger, and these so-called coincidences kept occurring.
From Strength to Strength:
An extensive project that truly showcased all our skills came about with 'Greendocs', a forward-thinking company with an eco heart. Greendocs supplies eco-friendly printers and copiers and print management systems to help reduce waste. They came to us with just a basic logo, and we developed their entire brand identity.
This included a stop-motion animation explainer video with an original soundtrack, a fully responsive website with bespoke photography and motion graphics, and all their collateral, including signage. They were over the moon with the result, and when it was time for Greendocs to launch, they came back to us to work on their website SEO, which is now ongoing. We were doing work we loved to do whilst helping grow other businesses- it was perfect and obviously we were getting paid for it.
Building Relationships and Envisioning the Future
To date, a number of our clients have retainers with YOKE, which means we look after their creative marketing needs on a monthly basis. This is usually a mixture of content creation for socials, case studies, SEO work, blog writing and design for print etc.
Oakwill Flooring were our first retainer client, and it’s been a thrill to see them become a successful company who have been able to employ more local people. We have created many video case studies for them, a constant flow of social media content, and also a shiny new website. We have even helped them to the top of the first page of Google for their keywords. On top of this we feel we have encouraged them, and others to think and act more creatively in the way that they approach marketing their business.
Building relationships with these businesses has been so important to us. Keeping communication open and providing them with the creative elements they need, when they need it - has helped their businesses thrive, and in turn, ours too.
Two years have now passed, and we have collaborated with numerous companies. From flooring specialists to estate agents, NFT platforms to metal craft artists - our work has been diverse, and we love it that way. It's been an absolute honour to use our skills and experience to assist local businesses with brand identity, website design, videography, and content creation.
We have no plans to slow down. Our team is expanding, and we have big dreams and plans for the future. We’ve been fortunate enough to be chosen by MSparc to benefit from their Skills Academy. The Academy has been set up to bridge the skills gap in North Wales, particularly in digital, science, technology and creative fields. So we now have Hannah working with us on placement as our Digital Marketing assistant. In the future, we aim to encourage creativity in North Wales. We envision having a larger studio one day where we can host workshops for design, music, and video production. Watch this space!
Collaboration and transparency are at the heart of our work. As locals ourselves, we are proud to support fellow North Wales businesses and contribute to the region's growth. When you choose Yoke, you become part of a family that genuinely cares about your business's success.
READY TO MAKE WAVES?
Let Yoke be your creative partner. Together, we'll unlock your business's potential, connect with the local audience, and create a brand presence that's memorable, meaningful, and downright awesome.
Get in touch with us today and let's amplify your message, drive your business forward, and make people fall head over heels for your brand.
