If you’re wondering why you might choose to work with our studio over anyone else, a little background might help explain why thoughtful design matters so much to me.
I’ve been designing & building for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of following my dad to work, watching him measure, cut, and shape timber with the calm confidence of a carpenter who knew his craft inside out. While other children were counting down to the end of summer holidays, I was spending mine on building sites, learning how things went together — and more importantly, why they worked.
At weekends, I’d build bird boxes and planters at home, then head to car boot sales with my mum to sell them. By the age of 11, I had my own gardening round, a small greenhouse of my own, and a growing pride in selling plants and produce I’d Grown myself.
Even then, I wasn’t just drawn to the outdoors — I was drawn to making things, improving spaces, and seeing ideas become real.
At eighteen, I followed that passion and started my own garden design and build business in Manchester. What began as small projects quickly grew into something much bigger. I found my stride designing outdoor spaces that weren’t ordinary — spaces that had structure, personality, and engineering at their core.
I was contacted to support a design and build project for a family in Wigan. That project became part of DIY SOS — and what was meant to be a one-off turned into the start of a television career. The BBC asked me to stay on as their on-screen garden designer, and I found myself combining two worlds I loved: design and storytelling.
It was also on that first Wigan build that I met my wife — a moment that shaped not just my career, but my life.
I moved to Bristol, and I brought my company with me.
What followed was growth — real, purposeful growth. Millard’s studio evolved from garden design into full design and build, because my passion has always sat at the meeting point of home and garden. I’m drawn to complex builds, engineering challenges, and designs that break away from boxes and the ordinary. If it’s difficult, detailed, or a little bit mad — that’s where I feel most at home.
Today, Millard’s studio has grown from a single van into a team of 34 — directors, project managers, Architect designers, and one of the most dedicated build teams I’ve ever known. What makes me proudest isn’t the scale, but the care. Every person here genuinely gives a damn — about the work, about the clients, and about each other.
Television has continued to be part of the journey. After the BBC, I was invited to join George Clarke on Kitchens vs Gardens on Channel 4 a new show celebrating bold ideas and creative thinking — an honour I didn’t take lightly. And with further series now filming, that journey is still unfolding & then being the ambassador of Jewson Uk was just mind blowing.
Millard’s Studio is being built as a place where creativity is protected, where design and construction are treated with equal respect, and where the next generation can grow — quite literally. A place where our team’s children can one day join us and flourish. A place that leads the design and build industry in the South West with integrity, clarity, and beautifully detailed construction.
At its heart, this business is about people — creating homes and gardens that support real families, real lives, and real futures.
Care, craft, and building something worth standing behind.