Moving In
The Studio one year after moving in - In all of it’s Mess and all of it’s Glory
Before graduating from uni, we’d often find ourselves discussing the idea of getting a shared studio. We enjoyed working in each other’s company and didn’t want that to stop once university had ended. When we graduated and started working full-time, it became harder to see each other. We were pretty eager to continue making things in each other’s company — we just didn’t have the space to facilitate that.
The Space
When we were first looking at other spaces, most were cold industrial units, sheds, and garages. No/minimal natural light and low ceilings. Practical, but not somewhere you’d want to stay late after being at work all day.
Our room looked like an old classroom when we had first went for a viewing. We ripped up the carpet, found linoleum underneath, ripped that up and uncovered a worn, slightly rotten parquet floor. Stripping it back and repainting it took weeks. There’s a big south-west facing curved bay window that fills the studio with light.
The building itself is a bit of a hidden gem — an Art Deco school converted into creative and community spaces. There are gardens, a gym, recording studios, ballet halls, gymnastics clubs. It’s full of people properly committed to what they’re doing. We’re lucky to be a very small part of that.
The Name
Aftergraft actually came from a friend.
The studio is somewhere we go after work — after graft. The last thing we wanted was for it to feel like another job.
What It Is (For Now)
Most of the time we’re not actually making anything. We’re talking. Throwing ideas around. Catching up. The dialogue is pretty important .
Humour has always been part of it. We don’t really see ourselves as “Capital D Designers.” A lot of what we make is silly, non-functional, or just a bit un-serious — like a chair you could drive to the beach. We just tend to show you the more functional/refined bits.
The humour keeps it fun. It’s something that isn’t always allowed in day jobs or in studios that take themselves too seriously
After uni, none of us really knew what was next. We just knew we wanted to keep creating things together. If the studio can become a space that inspires other design students, or opens up opportunities in the North East — through events, briefs, or even just coffee mornings — that would be ideal.
The Hard Bits
Money and time have been the hardest parts. Everything in the studio has been funded through our jobs. Equipment has been saved for or donated by friends, family, and workplaces. Balancing work, life, and the studio isn’t easy.
But the moment we were finally properly equipped to start making things together — after more than a year of building the space it gave us an immense feeling of satisfaction.
AfterGraft is an evolving experiment. Each of us will take our practices in different directions, and that’s a good thing.
Sunset coming through the bay window.
