What happens when two art students fall in love, start freelancing together, and accidentally build one of the UK's happiest creative brand agencies?
In this episode of Truth, Lies & Work, we're joined by Gemma Ruse and Xavier Shariff, the husband-and-wife co-founders of Studio Zag, a 60-person agency that designs and builds experiential installations for brands all over the world.
- STUDIO XAG: https://studioxag.com/
- Gemma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-ruse-646979a
- Xavier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xavier-sheriff-49091132
- Ellie Glason PR: https://ellieglasonpr.com/
They met at 20 in a house share at Central Saint Martins. They've been together for over 20 years, running Studio Zag together for 16 of those. They've clad a 35-metre boombox onto Diesel's Carnaby Street facade, become a certified B Corp, and built a business where people regularly say: "This is and will always be the best place I've ever worked."
This isn't a story about having it all figured out. It's about trusting your gut, knowing when enough is enough, and building culture through brilliant work — not ping pong tables.
What you'll learn in this episode
- Why they never planned to work together (and why it works anyway)
- How complementary skills matter more than identical visions
- Why "disagree in the room, commit outside the room" is their partnership rule
- The difference between forced fun and authentic culture
- Why they don't want to grow from 60 to 600 people (and what that says about sustainable business)
- How trust your gut feeling actually works as a leadership strategy
- Why great work IS culture (and how they keep that red thread of attention to detail at scale)
- What it means when people say your agency is, "the best place you've ever worked"
Gemma and Xavier are brutally honest about the realities of building a creative business with your life partner: the complementary strengths, the stubborn moments, and why sometimes the best business advice is to ask yourself: "What does this feel like in my stomach?"
🧠 Mental health support
If this conversation brings anything up for you or someone you care about:
