Emma-Jane Taylor, formerly the global vice president of events and partnerships at Burberry, and Benjamin Webster, formerly vice president of event production at Burberry, have teamed up to found their own events and production company called Redhouse. The duo, who also happen to be married, have been longtime employees at Burberry, which they’ve retained as their first client. Redhouse will focus on events and production that include delivering brand experiences, producing fashion shows, and working on unique projects for luxury brands globally. Taylor and Webster will split their time between London and the brand’s red house in Sweden, which serves as their creative hub and home. Taylor fills us in on breaking out on their own.
Why did you decide to start your own venture?
Having spent the past 10 plus years at Burberry working on the most incredible shows and events globally, launching Redhouse felt like a natural step for us. Using the experience we built over the last decade to produce events for the wider creative industries globally is something we are incredibly excited about.
How did you convince Burberry to let you start your own business but keep them as a client?
Burberry is like family to both of us, and it would not have felt right to start our new journey without them. They have been incredibly supportive, and we are honored to have them on board as our first client—for us this is very much about a new chapter of our relationship with Burberry and an evolution of our working partnership with the brand and the amazing team there.
What was your favorite event you did for Burberry?
Some of the earlier events we did with the brand were really magical, as they represented a real turning point in the way that we started using events and experiences in a much more immersive and digitally provocative way. For example the hologram runway show in Beijing at Beijing Television Centre in 2011 was really the first time the industry looked to the latest technology to blur the lines between the physical and the digital. More recent highlights include an event on top of the Griffith Observatory—we love Los Angeles, and working in such an incredibly important landmark was such an honor. We will never forget watching the Queen’s Grenadier Guards Corps of Drums marching out against the iconic Hollywood skyline.
You two are married! Did Burberry bring you together?
Yes! We met at Burberry over 10 years ago and have worked together ever since, with me leading the events team and Ben leading the event production function.
Tell us about your red schoolhouse office in Stockholm. How did you find it?
We fell in love with an old red schoolhouse from the 1900s, which we discovered in a forest south of Stockholm, and decided to make it our home. What we loved about it was that for the last 70 years it had become a creative meeting place with artists, dancers, writers and filmmakers all residing there. Since moving there, we have continued this spirit, and have built a home and resting place for our family and friends; our own creative network of artists, illustrators, filmmakers and art directors. Our red house in Sweden is a constant source of inspiration and is the place we go to create and think, and we felt it deserved to be the name of our new company.
What was your connection to Stockholm?
I am half Swedish—my mother is Swedish and my father is British—and I was born in the north of Sweden and lived there with my family until I was about 7. We all then moved to the U.K. Benjamin and I would always find ourselves drawn to Stockholm for long weekends after big projects. We loved the landscape, the people, and the way of life. It was the place that we both felt most at home and so we decided to put down our roots there permanently. Ben is from Yorkshire, so he grew up in the countryside also and has a love of the outdoors, so he quickly became an honorary Swede! We spent about three years searching for the perfect place, and one day came across the old school, which we fell in love with instantly —it captured our imagination and we knew it would be our long term home. We love hosting lots of family and friends there and it’s rarely empty! We split our time now between the quiet forests south of Stockholm and central London, and we love the balance this gives us.
What type of clients are you hoping to work with, outside of Burberry?
There are so many brilliant brands in the creative industries, from music and film to entertainment and tech, all doing exciting things, so we couldn’t name just a few. We are incredibly motivated by the potential opportunities that lie ahead!
