Honestly, in the UAE, there's so much innovation and people wanting to make a change — but others are just here to get more, not necessarily drive change. Initially, it started with falling in love with how easy it is to do business here. When Leroy, the founder, got his first job as a marketer, he wasn't prepared — he was chosen because of his graphic design background.

After that role ended, he freelanced for a couple of years and noticed a gap. People didn't really know what they needed: is it graphic design or marketing? What's the difference? Should you build on WordPress or Wix — or should you even be using modern frameworks?

It's not been easy, but it's a great challenge — answering those questions first for Halycon, and then for our clients. Every business needs to be efficient with their money, and that constraint makes the work even more exciting.

Halycon is actually a misnomer. It was originally meant to be Halcyon — the Greek word for peace — which ties in with our mantra of tranquil creativity. But the misspelling stuck. It's unique, and that's kind of what Halycon is all about: being different, in a good way.

A business's initial aim is to make money so it can keep going — but beyond that, it's really about informing, educating, and driving change within the creative space. We want to make creative tools and services affordable.

With the rise of AI, people think they can do it themselves, or that creators aren't as important — but AI is only as useful as the person using it. Hopefully, Halycon can be at the forefront of creative technology, while also giving creators a space to thrive — safely, fairly, and securely.

We've found that service-based companies across a whole range of industries really benefit from what we offer.

Calm, but quietly — and hopefully humbly — confident. Does that make sense? Feels like it does.

That they've been treated fairly, got value for their money, and now understand a bit more about how things work. We don't believe in locking clients into contracts or building stuff that only we can fix. People come back to us because they appreciate the work — not because they're stuck with us.

Fast and iterative for sure — but walking with the client is important. When we're creating for clients, it's a collaboration. When we're creating for ourselves, it's about figuring out what needs to be done, where the passion is, and then executing with purpose.

You can't really pick one over the other. Timeless creativity is amazing — think Coke, or an old TV ad like Old Spice with Terry Crews. Even a deep cut like the Papilo Peak Milk ad (don't worry if you don't know that one). But those were trendy in their time too. It's about being creative in the moment, without putting pressure on it to be 'timeless'. Lightning strikes when it wants to.

Collaborative. It's our job to bring the idea to life first. The client doesn't always have the experience, but they do have their own taste. We show them what's possible so they can help shape the final product.

Halycon Studios is still a new company — but we're building. The goal is to bring together a team of great creatives who can collaborate and push each other. #watchthisspace

The next step is building an effective team — people who get the vision and want to push creative work forward. We also want to be leaders in the space where AI and creativity intersect. There's so much potential there, but it has to be handled with care and intention.

Eventually, we'd love to have a content studio — a physical space where our team can create, collaborate, and grow.

And yeah, even fixing a car can be creative. It's music when done by an artist. We'd love to bring in creatives from all kinds of disciplines, even the unexpected ones. That's the kind of future we see for Halycon.