The story behind the story: Why every client has a story worth telling
Every brand has a hidden story.
Somewhere behind the idea, the process and the art is a team of people who actually make things happen. It’s easy to skip past all of that and fast forward to the finished piece, but I believe there’s a real magic in reflecting on the process and shining a spotlight on the story.
At Sense, we got a special reminder of that recently with one of our property development clients, Matilda in Donnybrook. The brief? Bring the story to life for a new sculpture that was getting installed at the entrance to their estate. Let’s dig into it.
The story in steel
Introducing Euphrosyne. Designed by Bent Metal in collaboration with Tract Landscaping, the sculpture takes its roots from Greek Mythology, after the ancient goddess of good cheer, merriment and joy. Symbolising growth, positivity and new beginnings, it embodies what life at Matilda is all about.
Whilst the name paints a picture, that’s only half the story. The rest emerges from the steel. Burnished copper-to-orange, the dark green and flecks of gold echo the native grasses and eucalyptus trees that surround the estate. Sweeping arcs and curves represent the iconic hills that Matilda calls home. Natural and recycled materials were also carefully chosen – custom-designed from sustainable, weather-resistant steel, Euphrosyne is built to last and withstand the outdoors for over fifteen years.
At the very heart of the design is the wattle tree. The vibrant yellow flowers are reminiscent of the warmth and sun it brings, while the wattle is itself a symbol of hope and resilience as it thrives in harsh conditions and regrows after bushfires. It also carries a deeper historical significance. It’s Australia’s floral emblem and proudly placed on the national coat of arms. Used in citizenship ceremonies and further back, it has a ceremonial and spiritual significance to the Woi Wurrung people, for whom the wattle was tied to the land itself.
The proof in the process
On Tuesday 7th July, we made our way down to Donnybrook to shoot some behind-the-scenes content of Euphrosyne being fabricated and craned into place. There’s something magical about seeing all the pieces, like the giant crane, careful engineering and site planning, come together as the sculpture was expertly eased millimetre by millimetre into its new home.
It took a few hours to secure Euphrosyne firmly into position. But watching the whole process unfold from the sparks flying off the steel to the sigh of relief when the sculpture was finally standing in place, was a reminder of something that might be easy to forget. The finished piece never tells the whole story; it’s about the process and a team of people who make things happen.
The story worth telling
This isn’t just a story about one sculpture. Every development we work on has an equivalent: an artist, a builder, a landscape architect, a reason things were designed the way they were. That’s the part of marketing I love most, not just capturing the creative or the end result, but unravelling the story behind it.
Bringing these stories into focus is what makes a development feel considered, rather than generic. Not only building trust and credibility, but it also becomes proof that it’s part of something special. This is what makes people believe in a place from the start, and this is the story worth telling.
