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DESIGN STRIKING OUT Taking the plunge to abandon
the freelance world of design and set up your own studio can be daunting. Seán O’Beacháin and Clara FitzGerald did it, created So&So and talk about the process and experience. words Richard Seabrooke – What was the catalyst for beginning your own studio? How did it come about? Sean: I had been freelancing in Dublin for a few years. It suited me perfectly at the time, but eventually I got bored with only being involved with projects briefly or not being around long enough to finish them out. Clara: I had gone back to do a Masters and was only newly freelancing when I met Sean. We worked together briefly but I had a feeling we could work well together in the future if it ever came about. We had stayed in touch through work and when an opportunity arose, I called Sean to chat about the industry etc. We had a couple of subsequent conversations about the possibility of working together and it seemed we had very similar views and ideals. source of income but I couldn’t really see any other way of being able to make it work. C: I had felt unsettled work-wise for a long time after I had the kids. I found it hard to juggle work and kids at the same time. I think I had arrived at a place where I needed to be making my own decisions and have the flexibility of being able to attend to my family life if I needed. – How did the agencies that relied on you take it? S: They were great, and very supportive. That’s one of the nice things about the local design community, there’s no sense of us all competing against each other, everyone is willing to share information and help out. – How was the transition from regular freelance work like? S: It was pretty straightforward. I had originally planned to cut back on freelancing over time, while building up my own client base. I soon realised it was too tricky trying to manage both; I needed to be able to react to my own clients’ requests as they came up but I couldn’t do that while freelancing at the same time. Some of the studios I was working with needed to book me for long stints and it wasn’t realistic to expect my own clients to wait until I was free so I could work on their projects. I could have managed if I was willing to work late nights and weekends but, with young kids, that wasn’t really an option. Eventually I decided to give up freelancing altogether. This meant cutting off a steady – How do you find your clients? How do you find that part of your role now? S: Most of our new clients come through word of mouth or referrals. At the start, I spent a lot of time contacting businesses out of the blue; I did manage to get a few projects that way, but it’s really just pot luck. Ultimately, I think it’s better when a client gets in touch of their own accord, that means they’re ready and keen to fully engage with the whole process. New clients are coming to us based on what we’ve done before and what they’ve heard about us. They feel confident we’ll be the right fit for them. C: I think it’s important that people like what you do. That our way of working as well as our aesthetic, resonates with them. Word of mouth helps – we find that past clients are our best sales people! – What are the biggest challenges of starting your own creative business? S: For me, the biggest challenge has been sticking to our own work ideals. I think it’s important to focus on the projects you enjoy doing because that will bring similar projects your way. C: I’ve always found the best work comes from allowing a good chunk of time in the discovery and research phase. Good insights and intuition spawn good creative output. – How would you define your approach and work? What sets you apart? C: I guess what we were just saying plus we really think creative strategy is important. We’re not necessarily unique in that regard – plenty of agencies take the same approach. I like to think our USP is our complementary skills and personalities. We have the same values and vision but have different strengths and ways of working. I also think the male/female balance has it advantages too – it can inform the work and help clients feel comfortable. – Your favourite project so far? What made it so? S: For me it has to be the work we did on The Nature of Things, a range essential oils. We had a really good team for it; Tom Abbiss Smith did the illustrations, Johan Van Der Merwe helped with the styling and Brendan Ryan took care of the photography. Benoit, the client, was great to work with and was always open to hearing our ideas and thoughts. He’s got plenty more interesting ideas to come so we look forward to 16