Issue 57

PEOPLE
“OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS WE HAVE DONE
ALMOST EVERYTHING OURSELVES REALLY
IN TERMS OF THE BAR AND THE FOOD AND
PROMOTING THE EVENTS, BUT THIS YEAR WE
ARE GOING TO BE LAUNCHING A SERIES OF
PARTNERS THAT WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO
HAVE ON BOARD”
“I first saw it on a roof top in London about five years previously. It
belongs to artist Craig Barnes and was the first of a series of our artistic
collaborations. It used to be in South Africa in the town where Craig
grew up and had eight people living in it. Craig says it was part of
his childhood that there was this spaceship on the edge of the town.
When he went back with his wife he saw it was still there and bought
it. His wife apparently agreed on the basis that one day the door would
open via remote control and smoke would come out! It is sometimes
described as a giant blue Smartie on legs. Craig has lovingly restored
it over a decade and it is now one of only two worldwide that you can
stay in.”
The Futuro house has been a great first mark in the sand in terms
of what Michael and Charlie envisioned for Marston Park. “I love that
it was designed as one of the very earliest forms of glamping – as an
off-grid, put it anywhere cabin to access bits of nature you couldn’t
usually access. It was not without its problems though… The idea was
that it could be taken in parts on a trailer up a mountain or somewhere
inaccessible and with your family you would pop it together, have your
holiday, pack it away and take it home. It actually came on two lorries
in pieces and took eight people to carry each panel into position!
“Although it isn’t as ‘convenient’ as some of the modern glamping
solutions, the principle makes it an interesting piece to have here and
to see that journey and evolution of the ‘get out in nature’ mentality.”
Marston’s second artistic installation was a lighting exhibition
‘Field of Light’ by Bruce Munro. “We had it for about a year and ran
it as a ticketed exhibition through the winter. In the summer it was
rearranged and each of our bell tents had a smaller ‘garden of light’
next to it surrounding fire pits. It was a really beautiful and exciting
thing to do and totally in keeping with the experiential offering we aim
to provide guests.”
Last year also saw some achingly cool weekend collaborations with
Ibiza hotel brand, Pikes. “Pikes has a very rich history dating back to
the 80s and rock and roll days. We did a series of weekends with them
which saw a lot of exciting visual artists, wellness practitioners and
music including the likes of Groove Armada, Faithless, Bushwacker
and all sorts of exciting people – they were lively weekends!”
GETTING ON THE CULTURAL MAP
So how have Michael and Charlie made connections with the likes of
international headline artists across music and the wider arts? “Our
focus has always been on doing the most extraordinary, weird cool
things we could possibly find and this has naturally built a little bit of
momentum,” says Michael. “We’ve now been running for three years
and each time we’ve undertaken an artistic collaboration it has helped
tell our story in different circles and different little worlds. We are very
fortunate now that we seem to have people coming to us and that’s
very much how we are looking to grow the business from here. We
have some really exciting promoters now coming to us and scheduling
events and bringing some great artists through.”
As with anyone who has started a business like this, the phrase
‘doing everything yourself’ is no exaggeration according to Michael.
“I would be DJ’ing while taking photos, while answering the phone,
while moving a mattress. Meanwhile, Charlie would be in the bar,
cooking dinner, solving an electrical problem and juggling 50 other
things at the same time.
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