MAKING A SONG AND DANCE ABOUT BARN CONVERSION
WHILE most of us were organising our sock drawer or eventually getting down to the bottom of the washing pile during the first Covid-19 pandemic lockdown Ffion Gruffudd was hatching a plan to make her childhood property dream become a reality.
While working from home at her Carmarthenshire property in a stable block that she had converted, the urge to renovate struck again and this time it was to create something that had been a lifelong ambition, and there just happened to be an empty barn on site that could facilitate it.
Ffion says: “When I was really young I loved music, playing the piano and making up songs and I always wanted a music studio. I’ve got a really eclectic taste in music so growing up there’d be a lot of jazz and soul and The Beatles listened to in the house, and I loved indie rock in the 1990s and was in a band with my friends as the bass guitarist.”
Finding a file of the songs she had written as a teenager rekindled Ffion’s desire to do something more creative, and the empty barn and the music studio idea seemed to match perfectly. The first step for the renovation was to clear out the barn, which had inevitably become a dumping ground for anything and everything, which was an easier task at that time as the internationally renowned lawyer usually working in London was based at home.
But Ffion didn’t just want to set up a music studio, her clear vision was to establish a creative hub where artists and musicians could meet, perform live and rehearse, as well as record. She wanted facilities for engineering and production, podcasting and filming too.
But at the core of Ffion’s vision was to offer a 24/7 site, with pull-out beds, showers, lounge area, gym and even a sauna, all constructed to put the artist and their needs at the very heart of the hub.
The initial phase of the barn renovation took a year and all was going smoothly until the wonderful Welsh weather decided to get involved. Ffion says: “There was a significant storm and the wind was so ferocious that night that the roof ridge had blown off, hit a tree and chopped the tree down; we could see daylight through the bit of the barn above the stage and it was continuing to rain so there were buckets out everywhere.”
As with most major renovations, as well as unforeseen setbacks, the people working on the project were key to its success and Ffion says she was overjoyed to be working with a company called Timbercraft. She says: “I worked really closely with them and they’re absolutely fabulous. I almost don’t let them leave the property because they are so good, so I’m constantly trying to find new projects for them to work on.”
As Ffion doesn’t seem to have an “off” switch she is already working on the second phase of the studio’s development which will create an exciting outdoor performance space that Timbercraft can add to their “to do” list.
Ffion explained: “We’re currently working on a big balcony that’s being put on top of two shipping containers that look out over the field, and the vision for that is that at some point we hold some kind of festival or music event where we are able to perform on top of those containers and look out over the fields.”
The result of the intense 12-month barn renovation project is Coco & Cwtsh, an incredible space that has already been a centre for outstanding creative activity, welcoming some of Wales’ most celebrated artists that can be viewed as soon as you enter the barn via a “hall of fame” photo gallery.
Highlights so far include a visit from Charlotte Church and Becky Winfield, and the recording of Byd o
Heddwch by Shân Cothi and Trystan Llyr Griffiths, a Welsh-language version of the official song for the rugby World Cup.
Coco & Cwtsh has very quickly become embedded within the creative industries scene in Wales, including becoming one of Bafta Cymru’s annual supporters. It has already established a reputation for being a vibrant hub for Welsh artists, musicians and events, nestled within the most idyllic and secluded of locations to provide inspiration as well as peace, which Ffion knew from the start would be an enticing aspect of the barn’s renovation for future visitors.
Ffion says: “It’s intended to be somewhere where you can escape as an artist. It’s pretty remote and when you’re in the studio you can’t really see anything else, just across the valley in front of you.
“There’s a meadow outside the barn, we’ve got bees, it’s spring, the flowers are starting to bloom which is lovely and it’s very rural. There’s space for people to walk the land and a bluebell wood which is a nice place to sit and reflect and maybe find some music; be creative.”
The next 12 months will continue to be busy, including working with artist Sara Davies, whom Coco & Cwtsh have signed to their label, the only record label and music studio in
Wales run by women, and it’s this support network of the women around her that Ffion attributes to the speedy success of Coco & Cwtsh.
Ffion says: “I’m so lucky to have phenomenal women around me who are sorting all the day-to-day stuff out.
“My sister gave up her job teaching to come and manage the studio full time and we have an amazing sound engineer and producer, Branwen Munn – she is wonderful, we are very lucky. Artists say it is so easy and relaxed to work at the studio.”
Inside the barn Ffion and her team have somehow managed to transform it into a huge space that has been designed and zoned to include a main performance space with stage and equipment that has hosted many events and parties, two recording booths, breakout spaces for meetings, a kitchen for catering as well as visitor use, plus areas where artists can work, rest and play, supported by the renovated former stable block.
Ffion says: “The great thing about the studio is how people respond to it because it’s in the middle of nowhere and has a bumpy track going up to the place and it’s a barn – it doesn’t look like anything special from the outside, so the great thing is when people walk in they don’t expect it in that context, they are surprised, and that’s always a nice feeling, if I get