These dresses that you spot floating on the runway, or those craftsmanship pieces that you admire even from afar, the gowns displayed here and there, joggling in between stylists, worn by clients, filling our social media channels, gracing the red carpets…
There is a big army of Love poured into every single thread of these pieces. A kind of Love that is unique, filled with passion and motivation. It is the Love that the Tony Ward Family feels in their workspace.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we went to the employees asking them ‘HOW DO YOU DEFINE LOVE AT WORK?’ The genuine, spontaneous answers were heartwarming. Not a single person didn’t smile when answering this question.
The Micro is on, the tour has kicked off… from the hearts of the dresses: The Atelier.
We interrupt Suad, one of the company’s pillars, while she was stitching intricately with her magical hands: ‘The love and passion I put into my work has grown on me, it is a big part of me… I work with my whole heart and have done so for the past 25 years’
‘Love is this for me -while pointing to the unfinished dresses around him- My work is my second family. I work from my heart… and it is reflected on the results I deliver’ says the chef of the Ready-to-Wear atelier.
We had caught Moustafa, the chef of the Couture Atelier in a bad mood… but it was on point and couldn’t be more relevant. ‘Some dresses get to be created smoothly, but others with bumpy rides that make me lose my temper… And this is because I care, I love what I do and get overprotective over these pieces, I can re-work it for hours or even days with patience until it becomes flawless… Whoever loves, should not pour pain into his work, just like your life partner… no matter the rocky phases’
From the heart of the dresses… to their core, into the designers’ department. ‘Designs cannot be creative if they were not done by hearts full of Love. Love is my secret weapon for being passionate in creating not only designs but art pieces. This love is all in the details, in each woven thread that creates everlasting beauty in the world of design’ Stated Khouloud.
Moving on to the soul: The sales team.
Perla, the head of Sales, was rushing from the boutique straight to the Atelier for some clients’ orders. ‘Love is everything in life. You can’t do anything if there is no love, and especially at work. It’s my reason to wake up every day, to show up, to always be on the run, to dream about my goals… It’s my strength! The day I will stop loving my work is the day I will quit’.
Walking up to the administration… another force to keep this dress floating.
‘Love is always wanting the best for the brand. Giving a lot, being present, being there for the team, for the people’ says Youmna, who has been in the company for more than 10 years now.
Tony calls the marketing department ‘le moteur de la companie’… We enter their universe.
‘Love at work for me is creating genuine connections with colleagues and the press, building strong relationships and passionately communicating our story to the world! It’s all about strong teamwork, having each other’s backs, and making our daily work fun. It’s what keeps us motivated and what pushes us forward’ ‘Through videos and photos, you can capture timeless moments. Through that I can pour my love into it. It’s art… and there is no art without love’.
But what’s all of the above, if Joseph, the HR manager is not there to motivate them. ‘If you don’t love what you do, it means better for you to move on. Love is very important. I always inform the employees and applicants to love what they do and their workspace otherwise, move on! Love is an emotion so it will affect your mind, mindset, your body, and the energy flow of the others around you’
Last but not least, we go into the office of the driven force behind all this: Tony. We had a different question for him: How do you encourage your employees to develop Love for their work?
After a long, tiring day, while sketching quietly in his office, he looks up and says ‘I ask my employees to speak with their pieces, to speak their language, to give them life in their own way. These dresses have a soul and they want to be loved, to be worked on with lots of passion, to be touched by passion… Love makes everything possible’
Few years ago, Tony had named his employees, in an interview: ‘The Pulse of Tony Ward brand’ Fast forward to today… They all defined these little pulses into their own words.