When Céline Théry moved to Scotland in 2016 it was a brave new adventure for her – and she is loving life here.
Having grown up in Dunkirk in France she had always fancied studying architecture so, when it came to choosing a university course, she decided to head to Strasbourg for five years to learn more about it.
During that time at university she undertook a number of projects and placements and one of the latter saw her spend two months in Valletta in Malta.
She enjoyed that and when it came to applying for jobs post-graduation she ended up back there for a couple of years.
“When I was in Malta I was working with a client who was Scottish and when I said I was keen to move on and try somewhere new he told me that he knew Tony Kettle and perhaps I would like to go to Scotland,” Céline recounts.
“I had never been to Scotland, but soon I was over for an interview with the Kettle Collective team run by Tony and Colin Bone and then in November 2016 I moved here, so it was all quite quick, but exciting at the same time.
“The city seemed really nice and I got a good feeling about the company and the people at Kettle while I was going to be able to work on some great projects so I was keen to take the chance and move here.
“I am very glad I did, there is a great team to work with and everyone has been so friendly so the last two years has flown by.”
Growing up Céline played a number of sports with basketball becoming her main one.
She played to a good level, but when she moved to Scotland she was keen to try something new.
“When I was in Malta I continued to play basketball, but as a foreigner I could only train with the team and not play in games and I missed that competitive action and being part of a team,” Céline explained.
“When I first moved here I played basketball, but it was more social and I wanted something that would test me.
“People started to talk to me about rugby and I thought ‘I should give that a go’ so I got in touch with Scottish Rugby about clubs near to me and I then went along to a Watsonians open training session.
“I was a bit nervous when I first turned up, but straight away everyone there, led by Libby McCue, made me feel so welcome – also because I am quite tall I think they saw me as a potential second-row!
“I began training with the team regularly leading up to the 2017/18 season and my first competitive games were at a 10s tournament in Livingston in August 2017.
“That was fun and then the league season started soon after and I was involved.
“People always ask me was it strange to learn about scrummaging and the lineouts and technical things like that, but because I was put into the second-row from really my first day of training they are kind of normal to me and I have grown to love the game.”
Watsonians played the 2017/18 season in the Women’s Premier League while they went on a great Sarah Beaney Cup run and managed to make it to BT Murrayfield.
In the end they were well beaten by double winners Hillhead/Jordanhill, but playing at the national stadium was a great experience.
“It was an amazing day,” Céline said.
“Some of my family were over watching and although we lost it made us realise as a team that we had so much more to give and we knew that we could really challenge Hillhead/Jordanhill if we put the hard work in.
“A few weeks later we defeated them in the Premier Development Cup final and we took confidence from that into the summer and our extended pre-season training programme.
“Everyone got themselves much fitter and in the league season that has just finished [2018/19] we ended up second in the table behind them and beat them in the final match.
“That result was pretty special and what I have loved so much about rugby over the last year and a half has been the friends that I have made and that sense of togetherness.
“I also enjoy the team spirit and the environment within Kettle and I am looking forward to 2019.”
Kettle Collective is a multi-award winning architecture studio, highly regarded for its creative approach and ability to deliver high quality design.
As a multi-disciplinary studio, we strive to use innovative solutions at every stage of the design process to ensure that we deliver beautiful, bespoke, environmentally conscious spaces that meet the needs of clients and occupants. We believe we have a responsibility as stewards of the environment, and we embrace this responsibility at the core of how we conduct our business. With a collaboration design culture, we are committed to high performance and energy efficient design on an international scale. This collaborative process allows us to deliver vibrant and sustainable designs, with the belief that the space we live in directly influences the quality of our lives.
We have studios studios located in Edinburgh, Dubai and Muscat with partners in St Petersburg, Beirut, Saudi Arabia, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.