I come from a family of creatives and entrepreneurs. My grandpa founded his own property business, Thomas Homes, in 1974 with his brother. The company is still going and expanding with Gramp as boss, and uncle as his right hand man. My granny, mum and aunt are all interior designers, my uncle an architect and cousins artists and costume designers. Over the years we have collaborated and taken inspiration from each other; building our knowledge and portfolio of expertise, from our farm where we all live, in Hampshire.
THE SILO
Grandpa looking out of the top window of The Silo
This year marks the 80th birthday of my grandpa. My grandpa, Hugh Thomas was the one who converted The Silo, the building this collective is named after. Due to that and his entrepreneurial spirit I have inherited from him, The Silo Collective was born.
The Silo was originally a fully functioning grain silo on my family farm owned by my grandparents but is no longer in use, and therefore my grandpa decided to convert the space into an art gallery, just because he felt like it. The building still has all the original structure, my grandpa put in stairs and two extra floors. From the top floor you can see far and wide from the windows he installed, fitting in-between the buildings panelled structure. The space is open and light. During the lockdowns when I spent time at home, the top floor became my studio; where the ideas for the collective started brewing.
Studio photographs taken by Carrie Lees, 2019
In September 2019 and 2020 I co-organised two art exhibitions for charity in The Silo for young artists with my cousins, Amelia and Immie Pike. This was the prompt for me to start my own platform, as I loved curating and working alongside like minded creatives.
Me and my cousins during the art exhibition
Now The Silo stands as an art gallery holding all the artwork my grandparents have collected over their years.
Work by Max Leuchars hanging inside The Silo
THE BARN
The Barn exterior
Alongside The Silo, my uncle and mum have also designed The Barn which is also on my family farm. This was originally an old milking barn. For most of my life this barn has been big and empty, a very dusty space where everyone kept any junk they wanted to store. This was such a waste of space as it is a huge, beautiful structure with its traditional round tin roof still intact.
Last year my uncle, Philip Briel and mum, Nicola Watts came together to convert the barn into a living space for hosting and enjoying.
The colours were inspired by John Deere tractors and farm machinery. They wanted to keep the rustic nature of the barns style but pimp it up to create the perfect events space it now is. This is where we launched The Silo Collective and will continue to host a variety of events in the future.
Although now based in London, The Silo Collective will always look back to its roots and these spaces. We are already planning another art exhibition in September. This year the exhibition will be organised through the collective and will be much more selective of the artwork to tie in with The Silo Collective’s vibrant aesthetic.
The name of this collective is named after The Silo building but it also represents the creative nature of my family and their influence on me as an artist and designer and my desire to start this platform. I couldn’t have done it without all of them, their entrepreneurial influences and their unwavering encouragement.