As part of our March/April issue we spoke to six businesses with a Sheffield base who moved to the city because of the great outdoors.
Matt Bird
As the go to place for your outdoor media needs, Sheffield’s creative communications agency Band of Birds are comfortably nested away in their studio on Hartley Street, but it wasn’t always that way.
The head bird, creative director Matt Bird, was never a born and bred Sheffielder. He made the flight to Yorkshire all the way from London where he worked in Central Government.
He said: “My father was a climber; integrated into the Peak District. That’s what I was brought up on. From a very young age, Sheffield was immediately bound into me as the place for climbing.
“We are able to bring in people from all over Europe who are into the outdoor industry and give them the best Sheffield has to offer in climbing by bringing them to the Peaks. There are many things London could have presented, but there are many things only this city can offer.”
However, for Bird’s partner, communications director Jenny Brown, it was Sheffield’s past that sold her on the Outdoor City.
She said: “Sheffield’s got such a strong legacy in supporting the outdoor, from climbing, mountain biking, and road biking. There’s a strong sporting scene and that’s such a big culture expressed within the city.
“There is a history of innovation, from developing new styles and techniques in sports to creating new equipment to help expand athlete’s abilities, whether outdoor or indoor, in what they do.”
Band of Birds offer essential services for Sheffield’s outdoor businesses, from helping them with promotion, understanding audiences and building communication approaches.
You can find out more about them, and their office dog Tom, at www.bandofbirds.co.uk.
