Luke Cannon of Studio Ginger and Richard Oakley and Fonda Valasis of Edge Concepts have announced they have merged their businesses to form new creative studio Sandbox, offering an expanded design approach for retail clients.

Sandbox will unite staff from Studio Ginger and Edge Concepts in a new headquarters in the Bayside suburb of Hampton, servicing new and existing clients in Australia and internationally.

With more than 60 years of experience between them, Cannon, Oakley and Valasis made the decision to join their businesses to offer a more full-service approach to the evolving retail design landscape.

Creative director Luke Cannon says the new business demonstrates the founders’ shared passion for brands with a physical footprint and better recognises how to service them.

“Having collaborated with Richard and Fonda for many years through Edge Concepts, the opportunity to partner up with them and create a new business that would unite our individual strengths to offer a more comprehensive and creative design approach was a no-brainer,” Cannon says.

“We’ve each got a deep understanding and interest for brands that operate in the physical space, and Sandbox will allow us to collaborate with these brands on a greater scale and in a more holistic way.”

The three directors will all hold active roles in the company, with Oakley as business director and Valasis as project director. The firm will continue working with previous clients such as Hoyts, T2, Wittner, Adairs, Endota Spa, Bakers Delight, Lovisa, China Bar, Gazman and Lorna Jane.

Oakley says the merger was the right fit and ensures Sandbox will be best positioned to grow and adapt with the brands it services.

“The journey of building Edge Concepts up over the past decade has been an extremely rewarding one and we feel like the timing is just right for the business to evolve in partnership with Luke and his team” Oakley says.

“Sandbox is not only a great vehicle for us to expand the services we’ve built our reputation for at Edge Concepts with a broader design offering but to do so with shared values of creativity, teamwork and respect,” adds Valasis.

“Luke, Richard and I have worked with over 500 brands across the globe in all kinds of categories. We’re excited to bring our expertise together to create a leading global design studio, one that puts the client at the centre of every one of the next 500 brand collaborations.”