Work / A record of structure moves

The work, not the pitch.

Businesses arrive with different symptoms. The work is finding what is actually in the way, then building the structure that changes it.

Positioning · Brand · Go-to-market · Digital · Operating designSelected work · 2017 to 2026
01 / Reputation, given a structure

Thirty years of reputation,
built into a brand that can grow.

Constraint
A reputation built entirely by referral, and no commercial structure to carry it into new markets.
Built
Positioning · brand · commercial model · go-to-market · digital · founder authority.
Now
A market-facing brand, a live site and a go-to-market plan across three regions. Commercial launch in progress. Watchtower · Mayfair, London.
Go behind the build
02 / From activity to system

Highest monthly sales and leads on record for the Vancouver franchise.

Constraint
Four campaigns run separately by whoever owned each budget.
Built
One commercial engine: positioning, channels, partnerships and sales rhythm connected.
Now
The record month, October 2017. Vancouver · premium retail · marketing lead.
Go behind the build
03 / From network to demand

Editorial first.
Then the room.
Then the sale.

Constraint
A private network of designers with no public platform and no pull.
Built
A five-gallery Mayfair series. A masterclass run twice, the second sold out. Nine months, from zero.
Now
A visible cultural and commercial platform. Marylebone Design Collectif · marketing manager, the first key hire.
Go behind the build
04 / From product to category

A complex product.
A much bigger story.

Constraint
A securities-lending platform the market understood as a product, not a category.
Contributed to
Rebrand chapter · Series B communications · founder authority · events · film · US expansion.
Now
Credited by name in CōLab’s published case study. London · fintech · in-house.
Go behind the build
05 / Luxury real estate · West Vancouver

A $12.8M sale.
A brand built to match.

Constraint
A decade of luxury sales sitting behind an off-the-shelf realtor template, indistinguishable from every other agent in the market.
Built
Positioning · brand · a named entry offer, The Vision Review · a three-door structure of Sell, Buy and Relocate · editorial journal · private list · a trilingual site in English, French and Farsi.
Now
Her own brand within Royal Pacific Lions Gate Realty, with a $12.8M sale showcased on the site. West Vancouver · North Shore · Vancouver.
Go behind the build See it live
06 / Strategic & commercial partner

A story worth hearing.
Built to be booked.

Constraint
A former professional footballer, now a speaker and the author of Credo, with a story bigger than the materials telling it.
Built
Global tour planning · partnerships · sponsorships · branding · strategy · a website with films · a links page for Instagram and TikTok · a speaker one-sheet and media kit.
Now
Live at lukestaton.com, booking keynotes for universities, schools, teams and organisations.
See it live
lukestaton.com The lukestaton.com homepage
Outcomes
Evidence

In the world

Strategy should eventually stop looking like strategy. Six pieces you can go and look at right now, at the source.

Archive

The record, in pictures

Six strands of work that sit behind the six chapters. Nothing here is hidden behind a click.

Coverage & platforms

Named press, design-world partners and recognition, with the pieces themselves linked to the source.

In the press
Elle · Fashion · Global News · Western Living · Vancouver Magazine · The Georgia Straight · North Shore Outlook · London Life · Mayfair Life · Kensington House
Design-world partners & platforms · Marylebone Design Collectif
HOFA Gallery · JD Malat Gallery · Pictorum Gallery · Gillian Jason Gallery · Kensington House · 1 Hotel Mayfair · Poggenpohl UK · Mayfair Design District · London Craft Week · Emilie Interior Design · Maison & Objet
Recognition · 2027
Nominated, Entrepreneur & Agency Leader of the Year, Women in PR North America Innovation, Impact & Leadership Awards
Recognition · work led
Ambleside Dermedics, Best New Business 2013, West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce · Four consecutive Best of the City recognitions, Yaletown Laser Centre · Singapore Kindness Award

To feature Michelle in an article, broadcast or podcast, get in touch.

The rooms

Mayfair and the design world. Where introductions happen: founder evenings, private views, the exhibitions that keep the eye trained. Now in Vancouver: Anteroom, in the room.

Hay Hill Mayfair · founder events Hay Hill · the room, mid-evening 1 Hotel Mayfair · art gallery and interior design, a sold-out evening JD Malat Gallery · private view with the Collectif Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto · V&A, London London Tech Week 2024 · attended, Olympia

Events record

  1. 01
    Sharegain Inspire, LondonThe annual Success Partners event. Planning and delivery led by me, with the marketing team. It ran again the following year.
  2. 02
    Sharegain and Women in Securities Finance, LondonSharegain’s first industry evening, co-hosted with WISF. A sales-aligned events roadmap behind it.
  3. 03
    Money20/20Brand work from the rebrand carried into Sharegain’s presence at the show.
  4. 04
    Marylebone Design Collectif gallery series, MayfairA sold-out series with HOFA, JD Malat, Pictorum and Gillian Jason, including an evening of 150+ guests, and the fundraising materials behind it.
  5. 05
    1 Hotel MayfairAn art and interior design evening. Sold out.
  6. 06
    Hay Hill, MayfairFounder events.
  7. 07
    The design trade calendar, London and MilanHIX, Decorex, Surface Design Show, LiGHT 23, London Craft Week, New Designers and Salone del Mobile, scouting designers and reporting on the shows.
  8. 08
    California Closets Finish Upgrade Event, VancouverA promotional sales event, May 2017, with the radio campaign I helped create.
  9. 09
    A masterclass, run twiceFor the Collectif’s audience.
  10. 10
    Anteroom, in the room, VancouverSmall evenings at galleries and unusual venues. Request an invitation
Masterclasses

Teaching in London.

Unlocking Leads · 1 Mayfair Place, London

Unlocking Leads. Two runs at 1 Mayfair Place on winning HNW and UHNW clients. Registration for the second filled from the audience the editorial had built, and it sold out.

A masterclass for your team
Also in the record

Launches, clinics and a runway. Earlier work in Vancouver, details on request.

Launch · DREAMGRIP

A camera-rig startup, taken to CES

Positioning and launch for a smartphone filmmaking rig. Covered by CineD and shown at CES in Las Vegas.

Recognition · West Vancouver

Best New Business 2013, Ambleside Dermedics

I was Marketing Manager at Ambleside Dermedics when the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce voted it Best New Business 2013.

Premium clinics · Vancouver

Yaletown Laser Centre

Premium clinic marketing, recognised with four consecutive Best of the City awards.

Fashion · Vancouver Fashion Week

A sponsored billboard, on the runway

My billboard featured on the runway and on screen, in collaboration with Vancouver Fashion Week.

Private work

Some of the strongest work never becomes content.

A number of engagements in AI, security and private advisory sit under NDA. Discretion is not a limitation of the work. It is part of the standard.

The next build

What has your business outgrown?