Our practice
Shirabe Research is an independent practice of seven dedicated researchers, moderators, and operations specialists. We conduct all fieldwork, moderation, translation, and analysis in-house from our studio in Northbank.
Clara Wendt, founder and principal researcher
PEOPLE
01 — Seven people, one studio
Clara WendtFounder, principal researcher
Clara founded Shirabe Research in 2012 to focus on qualitative depth and in-person moderated research. She leads research design, conducts senior stakeholder sessions, and oversees every five-week study. She has moderated interviews for retail, design and public-service teams since the studio opened.
Works in: English, French
Tomás IbarraHead of fieldwork
Tomás directs on-site operations, managing in-context visits to workplaces and homes across study locations. He ensures field protocols, observational notes, and participant sessions run smoothly, and has led fieldwork in three cities and two countries.
Works in: English, Spanish
Nadia HaddadSenior moderator
Nadia specializes in one-to-one depth interviews and concept evaluation sessions in studios A and B. Her calm interview technique helps participants speak openly about complex habits and decisions, and she has moderated most of the studio’s concept tests.
Works in: English, Arabic, French
Jonah MensahSurvey and analysis lead
Jonah designs follow-up surveys to quantify findings uncovered during qualitative interviews. He turns transcript data and survey samples into clear tables and structured reports, and runs the 400-person surveys that follow selected studies.
Works in: English, German
Ingrid SolbergRecruitment lead
Ingrid manages participant screening and scheduling across all engagements. She ensures each cohort precisely matches the demographic and behavioural criteria defined in the brief, and builds every screener by hand rather than buying panel lists.
Works in: English, German
Wei-Lin ChouTranscripts and translation
Wei-Lin oversees verbatim transcription, audio documentation, and translation across five languages. Her work preserves participant nuance and exact phrasing for collaborative charting on the studio wall.
Works in: English, Chinese, Japanese
Rafael DuarteStudio manager
Rafael oversees daily studio operations and technical recording facilities at 27 Calder Street. He manages session logistics, recording archives, and hospitality for clients and participants.
Works in: English, Portuguese
HOW WE WORK
02 — A small team that does its own fieldwork
01
Research Direction and Fieldwork
Clara Wendt is the founder and principal researcher of Shirabe Research. Since establishing the firm in 2012, she has guided qualitative inquiry across retail, design, and public services, moderating complex stakeholder briefs and leading final readouts. Tomás Ibarra serves as head of fieldwork, directing operational logistics, on-site observation protocols, and in-context field trips across multiple cities. Nadia Haddad is our senior moderator, specializing in unhurried, one-to-one customer interviews within Studio A and Studio B. Together, they ensure that every participant conversation is conducted with patience, rigorous neutrality, and acute sensitivity to unspoken customer hesitations.
02
Recruitment, Analysis, and Studio Operations
Ingrid Solberg leads participant recruitment, overseeing rigorous screening to ensure every interview candidate precisely matches behavioural criteria without reliance on generic consumer panels. Jonah Mensah is our survey and analysis lead, responsible for structuring quantitative validation surveys and synthesizing complex qualitative datasets. Wei-Lin Chou manages verbatim transcripts and multi-language translation, ensuring nuanced participant expressions across five languages are accurately preserved. Rafael Duarte serves as studio manager, maintaining interview studios Studio A and Studio B, overseeing audio-visual recording infrastructure, and ensuring participant hospitality and comfort at our 27 Calder Street premises.
03
A Seven-Person Collaborative Practice
Our team of seven maintains an uncompromised commitment to direct involvement. We do not pass client projects to junior associates or outsource fieldwork to third-party call centers. Every interview guide is authored by our senior moderators, every participant is screened under Ingrid Solberg’s supervision, and every paper charting session is conducted collaboratively on our studio walls with principal researchers present. Operating across five languages, our team bridges cross-border nuances while preserving consistent analytical rigor. This intimate structure ensures that clients work directly with the researchers who sit across the table from their customers from project inception through final readout.