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In this episode, Guy sits down with Helena, Creative Director and Founder of Studio Masat, to discuss navigating the design industry as a new mother while launching her own studio.
Helena shares her background in design & build, what it was like managing pregnancy in a client-facing role, and why transparency, planning, and trust are essential when balancing projects and maternity leave. The conversation explores outdated industry norms around flexibility, the loss of talented mothers due to rigid systems, and why outcomes matter more than hours at a desk.
They also dive into how motherhood reshaped Helena’s perspective on accessibility in the built environment — and why inclusive design should never be a retrofit or afterthought.
This is an episode about leadership, flexibility, and designing better systems — both in our workplaces and in the spaces we create.
They also explore:
How parenthood exposed everyday access barriers (and why it changed Helena’s design lens)
Why physical accessibility is being left behind in wider inclusion conversations
The difference between inclusive design and “retrofit” afterthought solutions
Announcing pregnancy on client projects: what works, what doesn’t, and when to share it
The “buddy system” approach that protects the client experience and grows junior talent
Why the “mothers are less ambitious” narrative is wrong — and what’s actually true
The outdated 9–5 model in a two-income world (and why flexibility is already happening elsewhere)
Trust + communication as the real foundation of flexible work
Examples of accessibility done well — and what most buildings still get wrong
Episode Resources
Helena Masat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helena-masat-671522104/?originalSubdomain=uk
Guy Stanley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guystanley
Learn more about Stansons Group Ltd. here: https://stansons.co.uk
🔗 Useful Links:
🎧 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3JuplSC
🎧 Spotify: https://bit.ly/4924osv
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What is Space by Stansons?
Welcome to Space by Stansons. Listen to raw, thought-provoking conversations with key players in the interiors industry, as we challenge conventional thinking towards aesthetics and sustainability. Most importantly our objective is to inspire designers to think holistically, creating spaces where people of today and the future, truly flourish.