With a 36-year heritage in superyacht design, the award-winning studio at Winch Design is now creating projects unrestricted by preconceptions, tropes or niches across land, air and sea. Each project is limitlessly creative and entirely bespoke, and the design language is built upon the DNA of the client’s dreams.
Walpole: What is your brand best known for?
Aino Grapin: Winch Design is a world-leading multi-disciplinary studio, specialising in the bespoke design of superyachts, private jets, architecture and interiors. There is no other studio like Winch, mostly because of our relentless creativity and the uncompromising level of quality we achieve, as well as our dedication to saying ‘yes’ and finding solutions to unprecedented challenges.
What has been a significant achievement in your company’s timeline?
In 2021, we became employee-owned and celebrated our 36th year in business. This was a very exciting milestone in our history and a natural progression following all the great work that has been done to get us to this point. I believe every single person at Winch Design is exceptional and it is their collaborative spirit that is the true strength of the studio.
Why do you love the brand?
The Winch team are a truly exceptional bunch of people. Each and every person pushes the bar on what our clients dare to dream, and we work in a supportive environment where ideas flow and collaboration and innovation thrives. Sustainability has always been at the top of the agenda at Winch, which is something I am personally very passionate about. In 2020, we launched ‘Life Worth Living’, a social and ecological strategy with ambitious goals over a four-year period. We have also signed the Water Revolution Foundation Code of Conduct, received accreditation by Planet Mark and we are a long-standing partner of the Blue Marine Foundation.
Why does your brand represent the very best in British luxury?
Over the past 36 years, Winch has designed and delivered iconic superyacht, private jet and residential and commercial projects all over the globe. The studio has no house style and the projects delivered are not only unrestricted in terms of scale and creativity but have also paved the way for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) design into the future.
The Winch Ethos is predicated on certain values, initiated by our Founder Andrew Winch, and now upheld by all: the importance of creating spatial energy and emotion, designing spaces that are balanced, beautiful and uplifting and always being inquisitive for more knowledge.
We are different to other studios because we believe that the experience of designing and building a project is as important as the project itself: clients need to enjoy every moment with us. We pride ourselves on delivering an end-to-end service, encompassing everything from the first sketch of an idea to the dressing stage, taking care to ensure the pillows are plumped and the client’s favourite scent is wafting around the room.
What attracted you to becoming a Walpole member?
We align with Walpole’s ambition to promote, protect and develop British luxury worldwide. British craftmanship is incredibly important to us and we are proud of our British heritage. We established ‘Under Winch’s Wing’ during the Covid-19 crisis to provide support to the smallest British craftspeople and suppliers whose irreplaceable skill has been bringing the Winch Design portfolio to life for the past 36 years.
If you could collaborate with another Walpole member, which one would you choose (and what would you like to do)?
We would love to work with one of the iconic hotel groups, such as Belmond, The Peninsula Hotels or Claridge’s, on an interior project.
Tell us about an exciting development or new launch for your brand in the coming months?
Our relentless quest for innovation has led to the recent launch of Studio Winch. Studio Winch brings a new view into the world of Winch Design, with a focus on interior design, decorating and styling for both residential and commercial spaces. The studio targets fast turnaround, decoration and FFE projects which opens up our services to a broader audience. It embraces art, culture and both contemporary and heritage references to curate spaces with personality.
We also recently created our first ever series of NFTs in collaboration with BOAT International and Cloud Yachts. The series of three very distinct visuals incorporate our two passions at Winch: innovative design and marine conservation. They are a call to slow down and take a look at the oceans: if we save them, they could save us and that is something that is very important to me personally, and for us as a business. All proceeds from the auction will be split between Oceans Without Borders and Yachts for Science, benefitting ocean conservation.