Finally, we came to a date we could both put to one side for one another and finally meet.
The studio is amongst The Tower Works and I fell in love with the space from the moment I entered. It was absolutely tiny and that was the moment I realised this was a two person company. The walls were adorned by beautifully printed publications and prints structured amongst the white space and you could instantly feel that this was the perfect space to be inspired and creative.
Michael and Zosia are Archipelago, Michael being the designer and Zosia, his wife being the project manager, account handler, and organiser all round.
I was greeted with an amazing coffee and a friendly chat about the space, community surrounding it and the work that they have been doing. This lead onto the reason why they wanted to bring me in.
They had noticed me on instagram when I most recently rebranded myself and were taken back by the fact I was still in university when they noticed my standard of work, the amount of freelancing I have been doing as well as the amount of time I have spent working in studios this year. Even though they mentioned possible internships in the original email they sent me, they mentioned here that I am passed the level of what they would be able to offer me in an internship or placement as I am already doing what I would of been taught on it. Instead they brought up their interest in keeping in touch with me and using me as a freelancer as and when the opportunity arises along with the possibility of working together on more arty projects.
This was so overwhelming to have a couple of professionals give me this amount of praise and bring up their interest of working with me professionally.
Archipelago focus on the independent and cultural sector of design and their favourite briefs are those for museums, galleries and exhibitions. This is a direction I would love to experience as I have not yet had the opportunity to.
We discussed my current work and they provided me with some excellent feedback, along with a confidence boost in telling me that my worries of entering the real world after university are not at all necessary as I am so far the most professional studio they have spoken to and have built up an amazing network for myself.
Michael and Zosia were absolutely lovely and a pleasure to talk to. I was invited to the opening night of The Plant Room, an interactive exhibition they are currently working on with Lucy Ketchin, Dove Street Pottery, and Matt Kelly. This will be a great way of seeing them again and updating them on post-university life as it is the week after our final submission.
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