What happens when you combine thousands of HR professionals, a full-blown festival setup, and nearly a ton of sand? You get our time with the Ashby team at RecFest UK 2026. RecFest swaps the standard conference hall for multi-stage festival grounds, and we were brought along to build a live sand sculpture right inside the Ashby tent.
Prepping the Sand
The day before gates opened, our lead sculptor and creative director, Jamie, got to work setting up his tabletop sand table. Raising the sculpture to eye level makes it much easier for crowds to watch the artwork take shape and saves us from having to shift a ton of loose sand around the floor. Thanks to some serious hands-on help from the Ashby team (shoutout to Hannah for helping unload), Jamie spent the afternoon compacting the sand solid so it would hold up to a full day the next day of detailed carving.
The Main Event
Jamie started carving at 7:00 AM as delegates flooded into the grounds. RecFest genuinely feels like a mini-Glastonbury for HR, with stages packed for talks on AI talent acquisition, strategy, and culture. Because we kept the tabletop accessible without a big barrier, visitors could step right up to watch the details unfold, which led to a few high-stakes moments whenever someone accidentally leaned a bit too heavily on the sand table itself.
Breaking the Ice
By late afternoon, Jamie had carved a detailed sandcastle featuring the Ashby logo directly into the design. The live creation turned out to be a great, low-pressure icebreaker. It naturally drew people toward the tent, giving the Ashby crew an easy opening to strike up genuine conversations with passersby.
Huge thanks to Ashby for having us along, and to everyone who stopped by to chat about sand, strategy, or both!
