Our first creative placement in London

A while ago we talked of a placement at Hi-Res!, sadly this fell through as they thought that they were getting one creative rather than two. But we are positive thinkers so didn't let it get us down. We talked with D&AD again and they put us in touch with Nick at AKQA. After sending our portfolio over he asked us to come in and meet him. So we worked up a few ideas we'd been discussing and baked some cakes.

First impressions as we entered were an amazing office! 3 receptionists and an absolutely amazing view from the boardroom. Nick was great and painting a picture of AKQA that was impossible not to fall in love with, 'We come up with a solution that works for the brand and it's problem. Whether that is print ad, an app or even a product, the idea is key.' And they have the proof to back it up. Their work and awards speaks for themselves.

It all went well and Nick offered us a placement, hurrah! We started on Tuesday and we are loving it. We will delve deeper into AKQA and our experience in future posts but everyone in the office has been very welcoming and helpful. We were taken out for dinner and invited along to a screening on our first day, we're smitten! Lets hope we create the right impression and produce some ideas they like so we have the chance of maybe returning in the future :)

It is exciting times for AKcreates and we are embracing every second of it. All the hard work is paying off and this 'chasing your dream' is certainly the way to do it!

An Apology and a Update

Firstly we would like to say sorry to anyone that actually reads our blog, sorry that we haven't blogged for a while. With that out of the way what follows is an update, which will hopefully give you an idea as to WHY we have been neglecting our duties.

So the last post told of how we were off to the Cannt SkinnyCub Awards launch night. Well what a fantastic night that was! As well as getting introduced to a very interesting brief, we got to show our book to some lovely people and get some great feedback. The agency that set the brief was Soup and a lot of the guys were there giving book crits. We talked to a few people and were actually about to leave when we thought, 'no, we must make the most of this opportunity to show our work and get some industry advice'. So we went back outside and managed to bag a spot with Si (from Soup), we showed him our ideas and joy oh joy he liked them! And imagine our excitement when we heard they were looking for a placement team. So thats why we decided to stay!

We made arrangements to pop into Soup a few days later and show the creative partner Steven our work and see if he would like to have us on board. We start our placement there on the 11th July so you can probably guess we all got on well. We are very much looking forward to working with all the team over there. Their office looks fab, they are a lovely bunch and their take on the industry is very similar to ours. Once again thank you to the Cannt fesitval!!

What of the SkinnyCub Awards we hear you ask? Well.. we entered a very rough idea as time, birthday celebrations and jumping around with happiness got the better of us. A shame we couldn't spend longer on the brief but good things came from the experience so we won't dwell on negatives.

In order to stop this becoming an essay we will now follow this with a few posts which should explain what else we've been up to in a more exciting and visual way!

Enjoy..

Cannt-Fessions

The Cannes Lions 'International Fesitival of Creativity' is going on right now as we type. We were obviously forgotten off their invite list (tut tut!) but not to worry as some lovely advertising peeps who are also staying here in London have set up the Cannt festival (WAY BETTER!!).

It is such a great idea and everyone is really keen to get involved, we love the family vibe the industry has. There are lots of events to get on board with and last night we went along to the 'Cannt-Fessions'. While award ceremonies (and all those at Cannes) are celebrating the amazing adverts, the Cannt-Fession were aimed at remembering that things can and do go wrong. There were some great hilarious stories, a lot of boobs and far too many tales of poo! One thing missing? A female speaker to balance it all out.

The Speakers were:

Mark Whelan (Founder of Cake)

Fred Flade (Poke)

Chris Hassell (Ralph)

James Rouse (Outsider)

Dave Birss (Podcast - The Future of Advertising)

Tonight we are off to another Cannt event, the Cannt Skinny Cubs launch of a 48hr brief for young creatives (us). And then more free beer and hopefully getting some feedback on our portfolio. If we're not too busy coming up with ideas we'll give you an update on how it was tomorrow.

And on a final note..

Friday will see us have dinner in East London with some creative directors for yet another Cannt event. This one is for the girls only, and restricted to 25 places. It is being put on by SheSays.

For five years SheSays has been running free mentorship and networking events to over 3000 women in the creative business. Why? Because we want to see more women at the top.

How we have not heard of SheSays before we do not know, but rest assured we will be getting involved with them again and again in the future. What a great idea! Oh and we'll post some pic's and gossip after the event.

Talented Friends play Glastonbury!

AK are super excited about their friend Dels performing at Glasto this weekend.

We have supported him since the early days and know that 2011 is definitely going to be his year to shine. With the press calling him "Deep, cerebral & inventive... The future of UK Hip Hop" (The Times) and the likes of Zane Lowe thinking he has an "outrageous approach to the game, compared to a lot of other MC's doing things linear" you would think it could all go to your head but this quietly talented guy from Ipswich is still a down-to-earth, Bakewell Tart loving, sensitive soul and deserves great things.

GOB, his debut album is out now and well worth a listen. The collaborations that feature, with people such as Joe (Hot Chip) Goddard to Roots Manuva, proves for a refreshing, experimental take on HipHop. Click here to have a listen.

It is great to see his other passion of graphic design come out in his videos with the help and vision of Us Design Studio (another connection to the AK family). We'll be talking about Us Design Studio in more detail in a post soon, but for now here is a Dels' Shapeshift video (directed by Us) for you to enjoy..

Illustration

Just had to share this is very cute illustration that popped up in a google search this morning. Love it.

The Lost Collection

Today we got out of the 'office' and went exploring. We had been meaning to visit the new Transport For London art exhibition at the KK Outlet, so when we found ourselves in East London we thought we'd take a look.

The exhibition titled 'The Lost Collection' showcases some of the pieces of art work that have been found on buses, tubes and taxis in London over the years. The work includes whole portfolios, photographs, detailed drawings and paintings.

The concept of this exhibition really excited us, however we have to report that sadly it didn't actually live up to our expectations and we left feeling rather disappointed. The London Evening Standard described it as 'Unforgettable', which we might be inclined to agree with but probably not for the same reasons.

Why didn't we like it? Well it wasn't that inspiring. The work on show varied greatly in quality and was not to our tastes. That's not to say others wouldn't enjoy it and it was free so we can't really complain too much. There were a few pieces that stood out like someone's portfolio where they were exploring layers of photographs printed on tracing paper, and there was a very weird embroidery of a cartoon mouse.

We hope that TFL consider putting on an exhibition of all the found objects (not just art works) in the future. We think this would be a much more exciting and successful collection so fingers crossed..

London World Naked Bike Ride

It has been a while since we put some 'culture' up here so this weekend we went out on the hunt for some. And what did we find? A naked bike ride.

We actually first stumbled on this in back in 2006 while spending a sunny saturday in Hyde Park. So when we heard that it was this weekend we had to go and check it out again. If you haven't heard about it before and wondering why the hell people would want to do that here is a bit of background info:

Every year, in cities around the world, people ride bikes naked to celebrate cycling and the human body.

The ride demonstrates the vulnerability of cyclists on the road and is a protest against car culture.

The London WNBR gets over 1000 participants each year (and maybe even two more next year... yep, we felt a little inspired). There is no pressure to get completely naked and body paint is recommended but most people get into the spirt of it and go the whole way. The route is 7 miles long, starts and finishes at Hyde Park, going through some of London's top sights such as Oxford Street, Waterloo Bridge and Trafalgar Square, along the way.

We are cyclists ourselves so it was great to see so many people take to the streets (naked or not) to protest for something we believe strongly in.

Our favourite sight of the day had to be a sweet wedding couple who had just got married and where having their pictures taken in Hyde Park. We doubt they knew that the place they had chosen would be full of people proudly walking around butt naked, or that 5 of these people would approach them and offer to pose with them..

They went along with it, if a little scared, and are now the proud owners of some very strange wedding photographs.

All in all, a great day, a great cause and a whole load of genitals.

Oh and as an after thought, if you are hiring a Barclays Bike anytime soon we would suggest a disinfectant wipe.. just in case.

Kranium Bike Helmet

Now something we are both VERY passionate about is that people wear helmets whilst riding their bikes. Like seriously... why would you NOT?! 'Hmm, this device could potentially save my life I if I have a crash, yeah I might leave that at home.' At what point does that cross your mind and seem like a rational decision? Okay, rant over. The actual point of this post was to share something exciting, a new product concept for a corrugated cardboard bike helmet.

The 'Kranium' is designed by Anirudha Surabhi, a student at the Royal college of Art London. The design claims that it absorbs four times as much impact energy than the current equivalent. Wow.

He explains that there is a need for his design as the current expanded polystyrene material has been used for decades with little improvement in safety. The current trend is to focus on style and aerodynamics, but as Anirudha points out 'cycling through a busy city at an average speed of 12mph, safety is more important than aerodynamics'.

So why is this concept so good? Well the corrugated cardboard absorbs the energy of an impact and it has also been proven to last more than one impact. It is lightweight, waterproof and more comfortable. It is completely customised to fit your head using scanning technologies which not only makes it fit perfectly but means every single element can be tailored to the customer.

It is also made from cheap and easily available eco-friendly materials. Is there anything this guy hasn't thought of? It is safe (haha) to say we will be first in line to buy one when this makes it off paper and into production.

Until then you can read more about the Kranium here.

Re-use

We got some exciting news last year.. our big sister is getting married!! Both her and the lucky man are passionate about re-cycling and re-using (as are both of us) so this is a theme that will no doubt be creeping in the wedding plans in various places. So while looking for inspiration across the internet we are keeping our eyes peeled for cute little ideas they could incorporate. Here are a few examples of we have found..

Some really simple ideas on re-using found objects or things that would you normally just throw away (or even re-cycle) without thinking. There are so many ideas we want to try ourselves we just need to find the time to do it! Perhaps the wedding will be the perfect excuse to trial some over the next year. We'll be sure to keep you up dated with our efforts.

Dirt-Poster

We just had to share this poster we stumbled on..

'Designed by Roland Reiner Tiangco, Dirt Poster requires your participation to complete it. The back side of each poster is covered with a layer of ink, which you need to “paint” onto the front side the poster, to reveal the message that has been spot-varnished onto the paper. '

Well isn't that just a lovely idea! We love getting stuck in, making our ideas, getting our hands (and usually our faces too) dirty, so its' message definitely hits a chord with us. Whether it is a Cooking Tuesday creation, making 3D letters, knitting a giant scarf or drawing ideas on giant bits of paper we like keep our brain and creativity active by doing.

New Series

So we have decided to add a new part to our blog called 'Talented Friends'. We want to help expose our mates and what they do.. after all they are a talented and inspiring bunch! Up first is an old housemate (Nick) who moved back to Australia and set up his own business called Kings Of Carnaby.

Kings of Carnaby is a Melbourne based fashion label who take inspiration from that of the 1960′s English mod era, the collections reflect an elegant, preppy, mod chic look with a modern Melbourne twist.

If you find yourself seeking that point of difference whilst not being outrageous then Kings Of Carnaby may be for you.

(that's Nick on the left)

We met Nick when he lived in England and worked on the famous Carnaby street with us. It is great to see how he has taken what he learnt from the London 'scene' and injected it into his business idea. The clothes are fabulous and the whole branding fits perfectly with the vision and style they wanted to create. It seems to be really kicking off at the moment with more and more stores stocking the label and various style blogs/magazines showcasing them. We are very proud (and a little bit jealous) and wish them all the success with Kings of Carnaby. We really hope that they manage to get a store on Carnaby Street itself one day as we're sure that would be the icing on the cake :)

5 minute break

We just watched this video and thought we would share it with you. It is a nice short, 5 min, TED talk by a guy who survived the Hudson River plane crash back in Jan 2009. He talks about the 3 things he learnt while the plane was crashing. There are some really nice points in it such as:

'I am no longer trying to be right, I choose to be happy'

'I have eliminated negative energy from my life'

'Don't waste time on things that don't matter with people that do matter'

And on a final note he asks the audience to think 'If you weren't here forever what would you change?'

An important message

Saw this on another blog, definitely something we both agree with.

Wow.

(France looking South)

Thank you to a cousin for pointing us in the direction of this Flickr set.. amazing photographs from the International Space Station posted by the European Space Agency. The are absolutely stunning and a reminder of the beautiful world is.

(Athens)

Our favourite are all the shots taken at night that show the way we congregate in certain areas. Some even look like modern art..

(Casablanca)

We highly recommend you check them out for yourself so here is a helpful link. There are lots to look through so take a 5 minute break and amaze yourself with the world we live in.

(UK and Ireland)

Cooking Tuesdays

True to form, every Tuesday we try out a new recipe that we haven't made before. Today we chose a Summer Fish Pie from the BBC Good Food Magazine, simple, quick and delicious. Now to be brutally honest we have actually made a fish pie on a previous Cooking Tuesday BUT it was a winter version and we ended up having to courier it over to friends who were stuck at home due to a power cut in their building and had no way of cooking dinner! Anyway to shake things up and make sure today's masterpiece was different we altered the ingredients and for the topping crushed the potato with chives, parsley and cheese... mmmm went down a treat.

Less intimidating than your average balaclava, the Beardo not only keeps you warm and toasty it's also an innovative way of holding on to your beanie while flying down the slopes at high speeds! Check them out here. Cheers Canada.

Stalked

Anna used to work for Office Shoes, and therefore got discount for the both of us. This meant checking out the website every now and again. Unfortunately Office make use of tracking cookies, so once we visited their website all web banner adverts afterwards were for Office Shoes. Creepy? Annoying? Well yes.

But is this just because we have seen enough of shoes (and Office) to last for a lifetime? Well perhaps so.. The other day we were on the RSPB website looking for some research and now we are being stalked by them instead. But when this little guy pops up at the side of a program window it's not really as annoying!

An Update

Recently we've had a few old faces asking us what we are up to so we thought it was about time for an update. Here's how the story goes..

In December 2010 Kate quit her job and jetted off around New Zealand with her fella for 2 months. Anna continued to work until the middle of January when she also quit her job to follow the dream. When Kate FINALLY got back they re-grouped and Anna told her to pack her bag again as they were off to Edinburgh for their first creative placement together.

In Edinburgh we worked at a lovely company called Story and enjoyed working with creatives outside of London. Their working life is so much more balanced. We got to work on some exciting stuff and even help on the winning pitch for Highland Spring account (and help celebrate the win after).

We did return to London eventually (April 2011). And we were eager to re-vamp our portfolio from what we had learnt and really get out there and DO IT!

Since then we have been going to see creative directors/teams, asking for feedback on our book and sharing our love of cooking with them..

(there's nothing wrong with a little cake bribe to show our appreciation)

We have managed to sort a placement at Hi-Res at the end of June, helping our old friends at D&AD with their New Blood event at the same time. We are also sorting out with Workclub when we can go into their studio for a placement. There are plenty of places we have our eye on to work at so we are just updating our online presence and then the contacting shall begin again.

Our goal is to get as much paid experience in as many different companies as possible (rather than a long term job). We want to learn from the best and not just from one place. One of our big aims is to go abroad and work in advertising/digital agencies across the world..

..It is all getting rather exciting.

Sausage Dog Day

Big News!!

We have a third addition to the team..

Yeah, she's not a studio rabbit.. but a Sausage Studio Puppy !!

Her name is Deli (short for Deloris) and we are looking after her for the day. She is helping with creativity, inspiration and keeping our legs warm when she takes a nap.

Needless to say we don't want to give her back.. *insert sad face*

oh and Anna wore a badge to mark the occasion..