Designers and architects in the UK are suffering in the wake of Brexit, with companies abandoning exports and setting up offices in the EU to avoid losing clients.
The UK's departure from the European Union has created an "extra headache" and additional costs, designers have told Dezeen.
"It's terrible," said London-based architect Arthur Mamou-Mani. "We have customs agents now dealing with our imports and exports."
"Everything has become an admin nightmare, uselessly complicated and deterring European clients," he added. "I think people that voted yes just didn't realise how much hassle all this would be."
Work lost due to "extra headache"
The Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020, with a last-minute trade deal agreed between the UK and the EU. But design companies are only now finding out how the UK's departure from the EU will impact their businesses.
"We had not anticipated that it would affect our studio," said Nina Tolstrup, founder of east London design firm Studiomama.
"We just thought that materials would be more expensive and queuing in the airports getting in and out of the country."
"But this has not been the case," she added. "Sending and receiving samples or models is now delayed and starting to arrive with unexpected extra cost.
"We have clients that we work with that prefer not to deal with the extra headache of paperwork."
To get around this...