Today, AD is welcomed by Margot Robbie to tour the offices of her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment. The ‘Barbie’ star and her co-founders, husband Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, have never been office people, so finding a space they wanted to work from was going to be a challenge. After three moves in 10 years, the LuckyChap team knew exactly what they didn’t want–a conventional office. So they teamed up with interior designer Scarlett Hessian to transform a 5,000-square-foot former fish shop into a bright, collaborative, and effortlessly cool creative hub. Hessian successfully designed an office that non-office people can’t get enough of. “I don’t like sitting in one room for a long time—I get antsy. So as beautiful as my office is, and it’s incredibly beautiful, I spend way more time there than I ever imagined I would.”
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi AD, I'm Margot Robbie. I'm Scarlett Hessian, their designer. Welcome to the
00:09new Lucky Chap offices. We can't wait to show you around.
00:22So you're in the entrance space now and so obviously we needed a place where
00:26people when coming in for meetings and things could wait but feel comfortable.
00:30It's the double height space, like it needed some gooby pendants that hang like this. It sort of
00:34feels very 1950s to me and this is like a really famous old sofa by a Danish designer,
00:40Wilhelm Laretzen, and we had it reupholstered in this sort of like minty colour. It's not
00:45an uncomfortable waiting room. You're not too close to anybody, hopefully. The tones throughout
00:49the space are all natural and soft. Scarlett did a lot of work. It was pretty stark, very concrete,
00:56a bit industrial feeling. The exposed rock wall was already here and instead of trying to cover
01:00it up we thought let's keep it and kind of play off it a little bit. So it ends up being, yeah,
01:04like a mid-century kind of vibe. Still fun but elevated and sophisticated at the same time. This
01:10was all open right down this left side and we kind of built in these kind of individual offices,
01:16put the assistant desks in the middle so that we could have a central kind of hub and everyone can
01:21kind of communicate more easily. So the chairs are actually in the Barbie movie when you're in the
01:25Mattel CEO office and all the Mattel guys are sitting around on pink chairs. These are the
01:31chairs. We just had them reupholstered. Because at the end of the movie, I mean they were quite
01:35expensive actually. Yeah. And I was like wait what's going to happen to these chairs? And they're like
01:38classic Saarinen office chairs so I was like can we please get those?
01:45This is actually I think probably one of the first pieces of art I ever bought. An artist I think is
01:50really cool and Tran. It's obviously quite big and it couldn't fit in my house on any wall space so
01:55we put it here at the office and it kind of helped dictate the color palette for the office in the end.
01:59Yeah it was a nice starting point that sort of then led into like the walls being this deeper
02:03blue-green color and like the red tones that you'll see in the rest of the space.
02:14Actually no one wanted this office. Everyone was like oh the space is so weird like I don't want my
02:18office in here and then we were going to use it maybe as like a stock room and I was like no no
02:21no I'll have this as my office and Scarlet obviously was a genius about utilizing a very strange shape
02:28and I love it now. Yeah we had to like somehow integrate this. Yeah this couldn't be moved so
02:33we designed the desk and the bookcase to sort of be one unit and then lovely for you to be able to have
02:39meetings opposite each other. I mean this is another handy feature. Got whiteboards behind all these
02:45curtains but it's just nice to not have to take everything down from the whiteboards between
02:50meetings I can just kind of hide it. This is a little comfy corner to do reading in
02:54and this chair is actually called the Margot chair. And then this is a really fun lamp that's
02:58a finished design. It's got tassels. So I said to Scarlet I wanted my office to feel light, I wanted a
03:06lot of comfortable places to sit since I end up doing so much reading and so kind of making this whole
03:12section. One big couch was probably the first thing that we designed along with the siding and
03:17the desk. We bought that lamp together in Paris and then wherever possible natural light. So out there
03:24is obviously not such a gorgeous view but I still get the natural light through the rostered glass.
03:35We are standing in the kitchen. We use this space a lot. It's kind of where most people at the
03:41company end up congregating. It's where everybody comes together. There's like always food in the
03:45fridge. People have breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner here. And we wanted to just keep it very
03:50clean, minimal, like respecting the architecture of the space and open. Honestly some people at the
03:56company are very good cooks and they get quite fancy. The air fryer gets a real workout but it doesn't
04:01look so cute on the bench so we've tucked it away right now. I mean people literally will use the oven
04:06and bake, properly bake. It's very generous. Breakfast feels like everybody makes eggs for
04:11each other. Yeah. I love these. These are one of my favorite kind of light features in the office.
04:17I really like light white fixtures and I think we needed something across here that sort of broke up
04:22the neutral palette but across the space everything is very mid-century but minimal and these are a nice
04:28example of that. I think like everyone's offices have like their own kind of flare and a lot of them are
04:34darker so the kitchen yeah was just lighter and also so this space kind of feels a bit more open
04:39I think. And like welcoming when you come in I think it's like come sit at the bar have a drink.
04:44Yeah. Speaking about we'll get to the bar.
04:49It's just a little moment on the staircase. Well we needed somewhere to put all your books. We have a
04:54lot of books and also we were too embarrassed to put any awards anywhere else around the office so we
04:59kind of styled them in. Yeah. We kind of like hide them amongst the books and
05:03it's a humble brag that way I guess. And also this chair is really cool. We got it on auction and
05:07it's like a actually a piece of art from the 70s that came as a flat pack and then you would build
05:12them. I had it reuphulsed in a nice orange velvet to give a little moment a reading moment for people.
05:18I'm not going to lie no one sits there. I know it looks amazing.
05:21Welcome. This is the screening room area.
05:34We wanted to make sure that everybody every employee could potentially fit in here so we
05:39had to get a really big couch which is this beautiful corduroy sofa from Iliassen from Sweden.
05:44And then we've got these really cool chairs that are very comfortable and then custom made benches to
05:50go under the TV and this is actually your old kitchen island. Yeah this is our kitchen island
05:55and then we converted it into a coffee table because we couldn't find one big enough so actually
06:00worked out perfect. It feels cozy in here I think because of the dark paint and the kind of darker
06:04colors but also because we're kind of on the mezzanine section right now we have these curtains
06:10that are kind of a thicker material so it's less sound pollution I guess for the rest of the office but
06:14that also kind of makes it feel like a cozy theater vibe I think. I sourced these vintage
06:20wall lights from an old cinema in Paris. We had those shipped over because it felt
06:24suitable for the screening room. And the B&O speakers actually normally you're like oh how do I hide
06:29speakers but when they're really pretty you're like oh no have them out. So yeah people watch movies
06:33people watch cuts of films that we're editing and because of course we were off shooting and then
06:37everyone else you know back in the office is like what's happening on set and to be able to share
06:41that with everyone is like a nice moment. Through to the conference room.
06:53Table is massive when we do our big company-wide meetings we often end up here. Anything more
06:58official we end up here. Ross Allen made this table and we gave it like a pinkish hue to kind of
07:04celebrate the Barbie. It was a nod. Success that we were having at the time when we were putting this
07:09together and then of course every good office should have a functioning bar in our opinion. So we have
07:14our bar here. We wanted to like sort of tie into the 1940s vibe of a bar that felt right with the
07:21paint table. So we chose this maple bell and this gorgeous like red marble that sort of actually looks
07:27like wood and a little brass Swedish detail to sort of make the glasses sparkle. Oh there's a drinks trolley.
07:33So the idea is when you have a party someone can stroll around with a trolley.
07:36And we've done that actually. You just pull out the drinks trolley. It's great.
07:39But Diageo kindly decked it out for us and gave us Guinness on tap and then
07:44every couple months we get to pick a new cocktail to have on tap as well. It's dangerous. It's wonderful
07:50though. Everybody loves Guinness. We love Guinness. Yeah. It's really hard to get a good Guinness in LA.
07:56So this is good. It's like creamy and if you know how to pour it it's I'm not going to do that because
08:01my Irish boyfriend will kill me. And having like a fresh keg and having the pipes cleaned and all
08:06that is always going to make your Guinness taste a lot better. Can everybody split the G? No I mean
08:10I always try to but it's... I can. Every time? Pretty much. Are you joking? I mean it depends how many
08:16I've had. Yeah. Can you imagine if that was the interview process? Just put a Guinness in front of
08:19people. Split the G. You're hyped. Well we wanted to utilize the outdoor space that we had and kind
08:36of make it so that people actually really could come up here and have their lunch out here or hang
08:40out here. Obviously we're in LA so the weather's always good and it's always worth coming outside.
08:45Again it was like an awkward kind of shape and Scarlett made the most of it.
08:49Yeah we had these planters built to try and create this like greener edge because it was
08:53very hard up here and just sort of creates the movement with the plants which is nice
08:57when there's a breeze. The orange just looks fun. The chairs are really mid-century around the table.
09:03It felt playful like it sort of felt like really Californian but sophisticated still which felt on
09:09brand. I mean a lot of the time people are up here having lunch up here. Having a Guinness.
09:13Actually we've got Hugo's on tap now. Can't we? Oh that's fun. I know.
09:23Little kitchenette, coffee station. If you're a coffee nerd I think you'll appreciate this. This is
09:28the rocket. You have to be like an experienced barista essentially to be able to make a coffee in
09:33this office because the equipment is very sophisticated. Tom made a made us all do a lesson with an actual
09:39barista who came in and showed everyone how to work the machine and now everyone can make really
09:44good coffee to be fair. We've just swapped over to soft water. It's a whole thing. It's getting out
09:48of control. It's plumbed. It's here to stay. It's probably more like carefully cared for than the
09:54Guinness tap upstairs even which is saying something. Yeah so the ceramic cups are from a local ceramicist,
10:00Peter Shire. Actually Tom sourced these. He fell in love with them but it is a really good coffee machine.
10:05And it's really good coffee. And I can use it. Honestly. If you ever come by we'll make you a coffee.
10:09You won't be mad.
10:18So we're in Tom's office. He's got a very nice office. I suspect he went slightly over budget.
10:24It's a beautiful office. The rug is amazing in here. It's such a like bright pop of colour. Like
10:29everything we put on it just looked good. This is a vintage couch that I actually tried to put in your
10:33house. And then I was like didn't fit. And then it fit here. So I got it for here. And this this art
10:39looks amazing on the blue wall. One of my favourite artists, maybe my favourite actually, Takaka Yamaguchi.
10:45I really wish this was in my office but anyways. And then we've got the exposed kind of rock wall
10:50which ended up looking really great. It's quite James Bond. Very embarrassing. In fact we don't need
10:54to show this. This is, I've painted this. I don't know why. It's quite James Bond. That's how I sold
11:03it to him. Like this desk, the lamp, the wall. I think he's like my evil lair. It was good.
11:07Good way of saying that too. Tom loves antiques and vintage pieces. Things that have a story.
11:12You're both like that. You like things that sort of have a history to them and add character to a space.
11:17And kind of collect pieces like along our travels as well. That little shark we found in Italy.
11:22Yeah. So yeah. And Tom likes to sleep on this couch. Tom takes a lot of naps on this couch.
11:27This way.
11:38This is Josie's office. I also really love this office. I love the carpet in here. More
11:44reupholstered barbie chairs. And we also got Josie a gorgeous vintage Milo Bauman desk. And then these
11:50are also a similar period design side tables that are vintage. And Josie has had this poster.
11:56I've had that poster for so long.
11:57For a long time. And it sort of was the first thing I knew I had to work with in here. And it's great
12:02where it is. And then all your potential projects are on the wall.
12:05On the front, Anna.
12:06When we started the project, I knew there was going to be a lot of walls to cover. And everybody,
12:12it's lovely. Like lots of the staff have their own offices. So I wanted to personalize them. I asked
12:16do you have a favorite movie poster as a starting point? And then had a conversation with everybody
12:21about what art they like, what colors they hate kind of thing. And then curated the collections that
12:25is in each person's office.
12:43Thanks for coming by, A.D. We hope you enjoyed the tour of the office. We've got to get back to work now.
12:47See you later.