That Design Thing: Tony Clarkson brings a design event to Shrewsbury, 'the town where nothing happens'

Have you ever grumbled that not enough design stuff happens on your own doorstep? Done anything about it? No, neither have we. Tony Clarkson has. The founder of studio &Something has spent decades in the creative industry and loves a festival or a talk as much as the next designer. The trouble is, they're always somewhere else. There's never been anything he could walk to.

So he's putting on his own. That Design Thing takes place at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery on 22 October 2026, with Creative Boom as media partner.

It started with Creative Boom IRL, Creative Boom's free meet-ups for creatives, run by volunteer hosts worldwide, from Glasgow to Hong Kong, New York to Istanbul. Tony jumped at the chance to host our Shrewsbury socials and has been bringing local creatives together over the last 12 months. That gave him the confidence to take it a step further. "I was also a bit bored because nothing seemed to happen here relevant to the design industry," he says. "Arts and crafts are covered well, but there's not much on design. I was conscious of categorising it as design, but I wanted to get the right people to come along."

You might assume a quarter of a century in one town would fill your phone's contacts list. Not so. "Even though I've lived here for 25 years, I don't really know anyone who does the same as I do. So I wanted to open up a network and see who's around."

"Creative Boom IRL was the starting point," he continues. "It made me realise there is a scene here, and lots of talented creatives, which I knew there were, but not much goes on. It's normally traditional business networking in areas that aren't relevant. You'd be sold pensions or insurance. But what we want is creativity and inspiration. A chance to meet others doing the same thing."

I'm sat in Tony's beautifully messy studio in the heart of Shrewsbury. It's stacked with creative inspiration: books, old bikes, collected signage, and posters. A giant Obelix stands in the corner, his big belly almost blocking the entrance, and a ridiculous number of books pile up on the floor. I like it. It's a cosy space he shares with his wife Carol, a talented artist and illustrator, whose desk sits next to one of the many large characterful windows overlooking the local market.

It's that kind of place

Shrewsbury's a beautiful place. Wander its many cobbled streets, and you feel like you've stepped into a Dickens novel, so it's no surprise A Christmas Carol was filmed here. Tony's father-in-law worked on the sets, and the tiles from Scrooge's fireplace now live at Tony's house. It's that kind of place. Walk around with Tony, and he'll point at a staircase or shopfront and tell you which family member was responsible for it.

I have my own history with Shrewsbury. When we were kids, it was like Chester: a nice town to visit for days out. Later it became "a good night out", with a reputation for being a bit "fighty".

Things have changed, as they do. These days, the town is full of independent coffee shops and art galleries. It's attracting a younger crowd, tired of London and other big cities, who want somewhere nice and affordable to live without giving up too much of what they loved about city life.

Against all odds

The theme for the first That Design Thing is Against All Odds. The creative industries are going through a huge shift, probably the biggest technological change in hundreds of years. It's affecting us all, and nobody knows what's coming next. The speakers will explore what's happening and share their journeys to give the rest of us confidence and hope in an uncertain time.

As Tony puts it, "It's about doing things that probably shouldn't work. Taking the long way round, ignoring the obvious route, making something from very little or simply carrying on when the sensible thing might have been to stop. Our speakers will each take the theme in their own direction, sharing the decisions, detours and moments that shaped where they are."

First up is Lánre Adeleye, group brand designer at HSBC, founder of The Junior and a member of the Board of Trustees at D&AD. Next is Zoe Hitchen, creative consultant and cultural producer who worked with Nick Knight at SHOWstudio and led design and accessibility work at the BBC. Finally, Simon Dixon of DixonBaxi, who co-founded the company in 2001 with Aporva Baxi.

Doors will open at 2pm with free workshops by Foilco. Talks begin at 3pm, and things wrap up at 7pm, with an after-party at GlouGlou to follow. There are only 50 places, so don't hang about.

So why the name? The idea for That Design Thing was to avoid anything cheesy or forced. It's a cheeky nod to Shrewsbury being underrated, and it's simply how people talk. "Are you going to that design thing?"

It has longevity, too. Who knows, it could one day hit the road and become something bigger than its debut act. For now, Tony's ambition is closer to home. "I want to bring people together and show that there's a big creative community here that can support each other and help each other out."