FEATURE oceans to then realise a few days in that their hands and head are not made for the role. It is a huge commitment on our side and on the side of any apprentice coming in, so we want anyone we train to stay with us long-term, so again you don’t want someone to pick up everything and move for you. They should also love living and being in London so they have a nice work-life balance. An apprentice should have an artistic eye, an eye for detail, nimble fingers and patience. Our artists come from art school and design school backgrounds but everyone still has to go through a lengthy training process so someone self-taught who has always been a keen maker in their free time is just as likely to excel in the role if they are passionate about it. We work with such a wide range of people, each one unique in their own way. All ages, from all over the world, from all different walks of life. We’ve been lucky to meet some really fascinating people and being the small company that we are, we know all of our customers by name and get to learn about them in the process of helping them design their unique globes. And of course, we do not kiss and tell. We would never erase any country off the map but it has been requested sadly. All of our globes from our studio are made bespoke to order so 99% of them
are personalised to include features like hand-drawn illustrations, bespoke colours and little bits of someone’s family history on the maps. We work one on one with each customer to discuss options and help them design their globe exactly as they’d like it. Yes, We were asked to change boundaries. We ship worldwide and the world is a complicated place full of disputes. We won’t change boundaries but we do mark disputed borders. I lived in Stoke Newington for many years and at the time of starting the studio. The first globes were made in my sitting room in a house just off Church Street. When I was first looking for a studio space the area was not quite as popular as it is now, there were many empty spaces and rents were more than fair. If I was starting the business now I think I would have to be much further out of town! I worked at ITV for years, a job which led to me travelling around the world a few times but not being able to really spend a good amount of time anywhere, then I helped a friend open a music venue / bowling alley / bar / restaurant in town. The venue turned out to be very cool which was great because it was totally unplanned. I think most importantly I have had a lifetime of being hands-on and wanting to both find out how things come apart as well as always having a go at fixing things myself before calling a “professional” in. With enough patience and thought many things are achievable. I never was formally schooled in the arts and many of the greatest makers I know have simply been the type of people who are creative in their free time from a young age. Having said that my grandmother taught art and my mother paints every week.
HACKNEYMAGAZINE.COM
SPRING 2018
HACKNEY MAGAZINE 19