If you’ve been around Studio DADO for a minute, you’ve probably heard our story of how our four founders decided to take a leap of faith during one very important lunch in Miami Beach in 2016. We’ve come a long way since then: moving our lunches from the Beach to Coral Gables thanks to our growing team and new offices, while expanding our record collection exponentially.
Alas, we kid. It’s truly been an incredible four years and we are so proud of how far we have come and the work our team has produced. Perhaps this newly minted infographic says it better than we can:
As anniversaries are typically a time to reflect on what we have accomplished, we also want to take a look at how our team has come together during these challenging times and our bright future ahead.
It hasn’t been lost on us or our clients that we are in the middle of a wide reaching pandemic. The severe decline in travel and ongoing fallout impacting future bookings has made for one of the most difficult years in our clients’ histories. The crisis has impacted teams and workflows, sourcing and product availability as well as delivery timelines across all of our hospitality and cruising clients. Thankfully, we built a solid business foundation since our start and that foundation has served us well during these tumultuous times.
On the heels of our recent announcement we are happy to report we are strong and truly thriving in 2020. We attribute our studio’s continued growth in one of the most difficult years to two things: our clients’ deep trust in us and the commitment of our team to produce forward thinking solutions in every project.
Collectively, our four founders hold over 60 years of experience in hospitality and cruising. Their expertise and deep knowledge not only guide the design process but has also served as a compass through uncertainty this year. With a workforce that has tripled in the past two years, our founders also ensured that no team member was laid off in 2020. While we adapted to a work from home environment and initially scaled to a four day work week, thanks to the number of projects in the queue, we are already staffed back to full-time. Our team also experienced something quite unexpected as a result of these shifts: We strengthened our resolve to create together and pushed the boundaries of our creative delivery with every proposal we have sent out.
Our clients have taken notice of the way we have seamlessly paired fresh design with functionality. The result? Our scope and magnitude of projects continues to expand! We are now being awarded repeat contracts of upwards of half the spaces on each ship, having just a few years ago started with one-off projects of spas, restaurants and shared spaces. Recently, we were thrilled to be named sole architect for Regent Seven Seas 3rd Explorer class ship.
The future is literally being designed right now and we couldn’t hold more anticipation for our work. By 2023, Studio DADO will have approximately 15,000 staterooms on the water. Guests of the Royal Class Sky Princess, Discovery Princess, Enchanted Princess, Carnival Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, NCL Leonardo I and II, Oceania R Class and Oceania Allura will soon enjoy the Studio DADO design experience, with even more ship designs on the horizon. We will also be stepping into new industries including domestic river cruising, retail and land-based hospitality design. We couldn’t be more excited to expand our creativity and take fresh inspiration into new arenas. As we look forward, we are energized by our latest recognition as “The Fastest Growing Firm” by Interior Design Magazine and are honored to continue serving as a trusted design advisor to our clients for many years to come.