Having started out as a freelance graphic designer working out of the spare bedroom of his family home, Tony Hardy has grown Blyth-based, Canny Creative, into an internationally recognised brand and web design agency.
As the business celebrates its 10th anniversary, we chatted to Tony about the highs and lows of agency life and what’s in store for the next decade.
10 years in business – congratulations! Did you ever imagine that Canny Creative would take off in the way that it has?
It’s funny, 10 years has crept up on me so fast, I’ve never really taken the time to properly look back on how far Canny has come and how much things have changed, but of course, they have. 10 years ago, Canny was just me, working out of my spare bedroom, designing brands and building websites in my slippers. Now, Canny is a team of eight, working out of an office space on Blyth’s riverside and we’ve got clients literally all over the world. It’s been an insane ride.
Did you always want to work in the creative and marketing industry?
When I was young, I actually wanted to be a professional wrestler, but given that I’m only 5 foot 9, those dreams got dashed early! Interestingly though, I would probably credit my love of wrestling with the origins of Canny. One of the things I really love about wrestling is the characterisation – each wrestler has their own catchphrase, their own theme music and back story, essentially, their own personal brand. This isn’t something that really occurred to me while I was watching it as a kid in the 1990s, but looking back, I guess it inspired something in me, given what I now do for a living! The digital world was really coming to the fore in the nineties. I remember going online to search for wrestling content, which then progressed to me starting to build my own webpages about wrestling to then put up online. It was a very natural progression, but I realised at some point that I really enjoyed doing it, which is what eventually led me to study graphic design.
Did you always want to own your own business?
I don’t think I considered going into business for myself until I was at university, but thinking about it now, I guess it was inevitable. Growing up, my Dad was always self-employed and my grandparents on my Mam’s side of the family had their own businesses too. No one around me had a typical job, there were always entrepreneurial influences in my life, so I suppose it was fated that I would end up down that road.
What would you say have been your highlights of the past 10 years?
There have definitely been some pivotal moments in the last 10 years, like the business winning its first international client before we even had a decent office space, that was a real game changer! I was basically approached by a company in Japan who had found my blog online who wanted to know if I would work with them to create an entire brand identity for a new range of men’s skincare products. Within days of the first virtual meeting, I was on a plane to Tokyo to meet with them in person, it was incredible. Other memories that stand out are things like when the business made its first ‘proper’ hire – our Head of Design, Glen, who is still with Canny today.
Any learning curves?
On the whole, Canny has been incredibly lucky. We’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing clients on some seriously cool projects over the years, and we’ve built up a great little team along the way, but of course, we’ve had our share of tricky clients and employees that turned out to be not quite right for the business too, which is never an easy position to find yourself in as a small business owner. We’ve gone full Chumbawamba, got knocked down and got back up again, that’s all you can do really.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the creative sector?
Honestly? I’d probably say hold on. In the life of an agency, sometimes all you can do is hold on for dear life as the days and the weeks fly by in a blur of meetings and emails and the workload just seems to keep piling up. It can be brutal, but it’s also brilliant. The exciting thing about the creative sector is that it never stands still. So much has evolved in the worlds of branding, web design and marketing since Canny first started out and genuinely, we’re still learning every day. The introduction of AI has changed the game for creatives everywhere and it’s an exciting time to get stuck in.
And finally, what’s next for Canny Creative?
We’ve got some really exciting projects in the pipeline for 2026 and beyond. I don’t want to give too much away just yet, but let’s just say, the future’s bright, the future’s purple…
Canny Creative is a leading brand design, website and SEO agency based in Blyth, Northumberland. To find out more, visit canny-creative.com