Bristol creative business Blue Flint Group has re-branded under the name Istoria Group and commissioned world-renowned, Bristol-based photographer Martin Parr to capture its seven-strong board in portraits marking the re-launch.
The strategic business re-brand has been undertaken to ensure that Istoria Group is ready for the next ambitious stage of its growth at a regional, national and international level.
The group is already a multi-million pound business and successful, independently-owned collective of five creative and innovation companies, including exhibition, events and experiences company Ignition; interiors and branding agency Phoenix Wharf; strategic communications agency Caroline; children’s book publishers I am a Bookworm and pioneering innovation platform Solverboard.
Former MD Sam Rowe, now group CEO, said: “We can now offer clients access to a raft of specialist talent, based in a single, collaborative office.
“Our point of difference is that we have shared processes and systems throughout the group, so that clients can decide if they want to work with a single specialist agency – on a shop, restaurant, re-brand, event or exhibition, for example – or else liaise across the group via a single point of contact for all of their creative and design needs.”
Sam said the business favoured a direct and honest way of working with a highly-personable approach and the commission of Martin Parr – known for his documentary style – was a perfect embodiment of this.
“We’re great fans of Martin Parr’s portraiture and of the frank and wryly humorous edge he brings to his work,” added Sam. “The commission also reflects our belief in Bristol as a centre of world-class creative talent.”
Istoria Group is based in Bristol’s Paintworks creative hub just a few hundred metres from The Martin Parr Foundation, which the photographer opened in 2017 to preserve his archive and legacy and to showcase and archive the work of other new and established photographers.
Former group CEO and founder Claire Menzies has become chairwoman. She said: “My new role will see me managing the board and keeping group business strategically on track, as well as acting as an ambassador-at-large for our activities, expertise and pioneering values.
Claire Menzies previously served on the London Olympics Steering Committee in 2012, helping to create new models of sustainable accreditation at what was the world’s first-ever fully-sustainable event.
Ignition subsequently became the first business in its industry to receive ISO 2012-1 accreditation for sustainable event management and now has three ISO accreditations, helping to fly the flag for both sustainability and for what Bristol businesses can achieve on a global basis.
Sam Rowe added: “This is an extremely important moment for Istoria Group. We are full of ambition for the future. Ignition, our largest creative company, already works with corporate giants in the aerospace and pharmaceutical worlds, including Etihad Airways, Pilatus, Eli Lilly and Roche, but we are keener than ever for all the members of the group to partner with some of the great companies, large and small, that are located in the immediate Bristol and wider South West region.
“We believe this part of the country has so much potential as a powerhouse for innovation and creativity within the UK and we are here to help companies achieve that.”
