‘It all started with a redundancy and now I get to work with incredible clients’
Exhibition designer Rebecca Shipham, owner of Ships & Pigs.(Image: Ships & Pigs)
A Hull designer who set up her own business the day after being made redundant during the financial crisis is now celebrating 16 years of success. Rebecca Shipham set up Ships & Pigs in the city in 2010, after losing her job at a London exhibitions company during the credit crunch.
Despite having no experience in running her own business, she has grown Ship & Pigs become a leader in designing creative displays for all manner of global brands, garnering national and international plaudits while also winning respected freelance industry awards. The specialist designer has worked with top level clients including TikTok, Amazon, Bella+Duke, FreeAgent, The 247 Dentist, Vets Now, Sony, Langdon and the NHS, delivering exhibition stands for shows across the UK and Europe.
Her work spans a huge range of industries. Events she regularly works on include the Dentistry Show and the London Vet Show, where she has delivered stands for clients for more than seven years.
She said: “When I started, I had to learn the business side of things pretty quickly. I knew I wanted to design, and I knew I didn’t want to give up on the industry. I just picked everything up as I went along – and I’m still learning now. I think you’re always learning in business.
“It’s a big selling point that clients know they’re working with me, not being passed between an account manager and a designer. They buy into my design style and trust me to come up with something that works for their brand.
“I tried saying ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ at one point – like a lot of small business operators do – and the phone stopped ringing. When I switched back to being clear that it was just me, enquiries came back almost immediately. People want to work with an independent.”
Rebecca’s route into the industry started with interior design studies at Bishop Burton College before she moved on to museum and exhibition design at the University of Lincoln – a course originally founded in Hull. That connection has helped put the city on the map within the exhibition world.
Recognition for Rebecca’s work has followed. Most recently, in 2025, she was named Freelancer of the Year at the Exhibition News Awards – one of the industry’s highest honours. She said: “That was a huge moment. It felt like real recognition from the industry I’ve grown up in.”
Rebecca has also noticed a growing number of women-led businesses seeking her out, in an industry that has traditionally been male-dominated – a trend she hopes will continue.
Ships & Pigs – named in reference to Rebecca’s surname of Shipham – officially turns 16 in March. She added how she remains focused on doing what has driven the business from day one – creating distinctive, practical exhibition design that helps brands stand out, while staying fiercely independent.
She added: “It all started with a redundancy. Now I get to work with incredible clients, travel and design things that thousands of people see globally. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
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