An inspired new HQ for The Jacky Winter Group

Work Space

I don’t know about you, but if there’s ONE thing I love snooping in more than beautiful houses, it’s creative workplaces.

Over the coming months we plan to share more of Australia’s coolest commercial fit-outs and creative workspaces, kicking off today with the AMAZING new HQ of Melbourne creative agency, The Jacky Winter Group!

We stopped by to chat with company founder and director Jeremy Wortsman about creating a truly memorable work environment.

17th August, 2017

The Jacky Winter Group. (Back row left to right) Shena Jamieson, Gallery and Office Manager; Clara Marcus, Producer and Agent; Jeremy Wortsman, Director; Melissa van Dartel, Special Projects and Portfolio Officer; Bianca Bramham, Managing Producer and Agent, New York; Jes Harris Producer and Agent. (Front row left to right) Li Liang Johnson, Senior Producer and Agent; Mika Parow, Producer and Agent; (on iPad) Lara Chan-Baker, Producer and Agent; Hope Lumsden-Barry, Designer; and Penny Wilson, Social Media and Post Production Officer. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Could you really go past this facade? Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Founder and director of The Jacky Winter Group, Jeremy Wortsman. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

The Lamington Drive shop section. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Producer and Agent Mika Parow, with Designer Hope Lumsden-Barry and Social Media and Post Production Officer Penny Wilson. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

The sleep room which can accommodate interstate artists and visitors for overnight stays – they’re hoping to launch AirBnB ‘Sleep with Jacky Winter’ later in the year! Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Workspace details. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

The all important office pin-ball machine. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

The office space. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

The converted warehouse provides 250-square-metre of floorspace over three levels. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Mika at her standing desk (goals!) back-to-back with Gallery and Office Manager Shena Jamieson. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Lamington Drive gallery detail of Mechelle Bounpraseuth’s work for the current ‘Cooked‘ exhibition. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

The cleanest office kitchenette we’ve seen! Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Motivation all around. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Pastels, plants, art and lots of space – it’s paradise in a bookshelf. Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Street view with mural by Jacky Winter artist Lachlan Conn and show-stopping neons by TDF fave Electric Confetti . Photo – Amelia Stanwix for The Design Files.

Lucy Feagins

Thursday 17th August 2017

‘An office should be…. a place you don’t mind spending a third of your life in.’ – Jeremy Wortsman.

The Jacky Winter Group is a design and creative agency which employs 12 people, and represents over 100 of Australia’s best illustrators, storyboard artists, animators and other image makers. With a reputation for repping Australia’s greatest commercial artists, it’s no surprise JW’s new address is basically a shrine to creative collaboration.

After outgrowing their previous office, Jacky Winter’s founder and director Jeremy Wortsman purchased this three-level Collingwood warehouse in September last year. ‘I had my eye on this block for many years, so when the property was listed at 9.00am, I had the contracts signed by lunchtime,’ he recalls. Jeremy wastes no time. Over the next 12 months, working closely with his entire staff, and the team at Nest Architects, the space was completely overhauled.

Split over three levels, the building houses Lamington Drive (Jacky Winter’s gallery), offices and meeting room for the company’s 12 staff, a podcast recording room (!), and even a self contained ‘sleep room’ which can accommodate interstate artists and visitors for overnight stays! The most outwardly notable feature is the AMAZING exterior mural, designed by JW artist Lachlan Conn, and incorporating a neon signage manufactured by Electric Confetti.

As the Jacky Winter team head into their 10th year of business, their vibrant, versatile new workspace represents a new chapter. ‘The final design is a true reflection of our culture, values, and aesthetic, while at the same time being a practical space that meets our current needs, and our plans for growth’ Jeremy explains.

The paint is barely dry on JW’s distinctive new headquarters, but this eye-catching new space is already a neighbourhood curiosity. ‘It’s fun watching people’s faces when they see the exterior, or just simply stop when they walk past,’ Jeremy says. ‘Someone was visiting the other day and the first thing they said was “This just doesn’t feel like Melbourne”… and I thought that was really lovely, because that’s exactly what we were going for to be honest. It’s our own little world here, and that’s pretty magical.’

Type of space –

Converted warehouse

Size of space –

250-square-metres of floorspace over three levels

Number of employees –

Architects / contractors –

Nest Architects and Connellan Industries

An office should be…

‘…a place you don’t mind spending a third of your life in’.

If you’d like to suss out this magical kingdom for yourself, keep an eye on Lamington Drive, Jacky Winter’s on-site gallery – they have an amazing program coming up over the next few months, including fortnightly digital life drawing classes (with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencils provided for all participants!). We’re also loving their new PODCAST – Jacky Winter Gives you the Business! So. Much. Awesome.