Kenilworth Nub News aims to be supportive to every element of the community from businesses, shops, and people, to charities, clubs and sports organisations.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses, and groups regularly over the coming weeks in a feature called 'Up Close With'.

The next in this series is with the owners of soon-to-be open Und Studio.

Anybody who has walked down Station Road, Kenilworth over the past few weeks will be aware of the work going on in the old 'Boots' unit, but it may not be quite clear at first what is going on behind those temporary vinyl coverings.

The empty shop is currently being transformed into 'Und studio' - Kenilworth's first purpose-built yoga and wellness centre.

We spoke to Craig Dickson about his journey so far and his vision of changing how a yoga and wellness centre should be.

Not Your Typical Yoga Instructors

Craig, and his partner Claire, who live on Glasshouse Lane with their collective five children both work in the law industry. Claire is a partner in a law firm, and Craig a chief executive of a national law company, so in his words "we're not your typical yoga and wellness studio owners."

The idea for Und Studio however, was a product of the first national lockdown during which the couple realised what an opportunity this was within the town.

"The genesis of the idea came about in early summer of last year, where I think people were really struggling in lockdown, and we were just chatting about the fact that there was really going to be a big need for people to just reinvigorate themselves with wellness.

"This is about trying to get something that is just missing and I think, the longer lockdown goes on, the more evident that it is missing becomes."

The idea of opening their own studio in the town was born.

Whilst Craig has taught martial arts for many years, and has a dojo in his own home, neither he nor Claire are planning to be running classes at UndÅ.

Und is hoping to bring together the best instructors in the area to lead their classes, rather than them having to rely on using a facility like a church hall or a fitness studio that is not purposefully designed for wellness and yoga.

"It seems to be something that was just massively lacking in around Kenilworth; you've got corporate gyms, where there are a few yoga and wellness type classes, but they're sort of shoehorned into environments which aren't particularly built for purpose.

"And then you've got the small classes that have been held in converted rooms and church halls and things like that so you're never really getting that true wellness experience that people want - so we saw a bit of a gap."

What is different?

The word Und in Japanese means training or exercise, encapsulating much of what this space will offer.

Craig and Claire already recognise though that people will just use the English pronunciation of 'undo.' This however, adds to what they are trying to achieve.

"What we're trying to do is 'undo' all of the conventional things that are associated with how yoga or wellness studios typically work, so part of that is not being a corporate gym and so on, but it is much more than that."

As well as recruiting some of the best yoga and wellbeing instructors in the area, Undo will also offer a complete experience for the customer.

A whole range of yoga, Pilates, Qi Gong and other wellbeing classes and workshops will be available, as well as sessions designed specifically for different age groups.

The couple have also invested heavily in the best technology available. A Bose sound system will be installed, classes will be live-streamed to allow for bigger sessions, and booking will be done through a bespoke app dedicated to this studio.

The app will also allow customers to digitally sign in at each class meaning that instructors can focus solely on leading their groups and not get bogged down with administration.

Und will also be bringing out a tea range, as well as custom made clothing and has a number of, as yet unannounced, collaborations with other local wellness experts in planning.

A unique concept for a limited number of members is also in the pipeline, but Craig is keeping tight lipped on that for now.

"We don't want to give away all the new concepts on day one", he says.

"We're starting this from the perspective of a user because we're not yoga teachers, we want the experts to help us do that, so we started from the point of view of can we make this something which is really, really good for a unique purpose and which is designed for what it's intended to do."

Part of the community

Craig stressed that this endeavour is more about creating a space for the community than it is a financial investment.

"Everyone we have spoken to has said this is something that Kenilworth is crying out for.

"Which took us to thinking that this might not just be a really good opportunity to do something which brings something to the locality that is really needed, but also becomes a bit of a hub for wellness in the town."

The couple have also been using a number of local businesses to help with the remodelling.

"Our logo was created locally, by Emma Scott, all of our design and branding work has come from the brilliant Emma Lord from Lord Design, and Nicky Bagga of Boxx Design has helped us achieve our vision from an interior design perspective, as well."

Whilst Und Studio is hoping to be ready for a soft opening in March, there is no rush to get the building open.

"I'd rather spend all the time and all the effort to get the best from the fantastic local designers working with us, because that's going to attract the best teachers and with that comes all of the things that we want to achieve with Und."

Everything from the design, to their own brand and to the construction has had and will have sustainability at its core.

So far it seems, the idea of bringing a wellness centre to Kenilworth is proving popular.

"The buzz around the place about what we're doing is fantastic, given that we haven't even advertised it yet!

"Every time I go to check on what's going on in the studio I can't go inside without at least three people wanting to talk about what we are doing."