Creative Shift and not just a shop came together to commission students from University of the Arts London to design a range of homeware inspired by the theme ‘home’ and what emotions this elicits for them.
Working with the interior designer Eva Sonaike students took part in a 6-week collaborative project to create products ready for market. The students were supported through a process that took them from product ideation to manufacture to visual merchandise.
Creative Shift is based within UAL and shapes diversity in the creative industries through a programme of opportunities, working closely with industry partners to enhance students’ professional development.
Our industry partner, Eva Sonaike is a London-based Interiors company specialising in luxury home textiles and soft furnishings with a vibrant, yet elegant West African aesthetic. We asked Eva about her experience:
How did you find working with the students?
I found it really empowering, I have quite a lot of experience and I’ve been through it, unfortunately not in such a beautifully structured way, I had to find everything myself. So, it was nice giving the advice and experience I have to the students, but I think it’s also that you always learn from students. I think they’re always so giving; I see it as a give-and-take process, I contributed to the project but I also gained a lot of information, it was a great process.
What was your highlight of the project overall?
Seeing all the products in-person and finished, because I wasn’t involved in every single session, just a few of them, and some people went through changes – one lady went through a big change and wasn’t sure about her design, and now seeing her final product, it’s so beautiful and I literally picked it up without knowing it was hers! So I think seeing how they overcame their fears and restrictions and became passionate about it, I think that’s the best thing about it.
Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into homeware and design?
I think a lot of people have a vision, but I think going from their vision to the finished product, it’s literally a kind of impossible journey, and I think it’s why a lot of people step back. But then there are amazing organisations like not just a shop that can help. Everything you want to do, you can do it, try to follow a lot of brands out there, on my Instagram I talk about the different processes, there’s so much help out there so reach out to people and ask, there will always be an answer.
Here are the finished products from the collaboration:
What do you hope to do after this project?
I’ve already thought about expanding this project further and I’ve already created a social media profile for my product and found a domain so I’m thinking about buying it. I know a woman that has a shop in the town where I live so I was thinking about connecting with her too.
What was your highlight of the project overall?
I would say pushing myself and creating something that I’m passionate about and not making it logical because a lot of my other work is very logical.
What’s your ambition?
I definitely want to create immersive experiences and whatever that entails, ideally, I want to be an independent artist/ designer but we’ll see how that goes. With my project, I really wanted to create it as a tool to spark conversations or even encourage people to dive deeper into themselves as well, and maybe reflect.
How do you feel seeing your product complete, packaged and on the shelves?
It’s just a very fulfilling experience because it gave me the push, the whole experience showed me that it’s not that difficult, it’s pretty straightforward, and it’s just doing it, that’s what’s important.
What do you hope to do after this project?
It has been a very interesting and stimulating project, and it will encourage me to do more commercial work and have the confidence to put my work out to be viewed and maybe even be bought by somebody.
What was your highlight of the project overall?
I think meeting the group of people, the other designers, but also the staff have been so wonderful, encouraging, and supportive, and they coached us and encouraged us. There was a lot of very relevant material they gave us, lots of lectures, professionals they introduced us to, so they tell us about their journey and what we need to do and what to look out for and how to go through difficult times.
What’s your ambition?
I work in ceramics and my ambition is to work on public projects, public installations, either exhibitions or community-based work. Issue-based work, something that is relevant to our time.
How do you feel seeing your product complete, packaged and on the shelves?
Partly relieved, because I didn’t know how it would look, and how it’ll fit, but extremely pleased because they packaged it and displayed it so professionally. I’m so proud of it, I’m so pleased.
What do you hope to do after this project?
At first, I thought architecture, yes that’s the way I’m going to go and then I did this because I wanted to try something new, and I loved it. I thought, ok, this is so much fun and I think I do want to carry on with homeware. So hopefully, if I experiment a bit more, I might make an Esty and I think I might go to markets more after speaking to Clio, and just kind of see how it goes but I’d really love to carry on with this.
What was your highlight of the project overall?
Learning about how to do all this stuff, because at first, the idea of designing and then printing, I was quite naive about it, and I thought “Oh no it’s fine, I’ll just put it online and it might sell” but there’s so much more to it. And those, zoom calls about how to price my work, I thought it might seem pricey, but I actually put work into this, so now I know my worth, and sell it for how much I actually want to. I put time into this, and I love it so hopefully, it attracts the right audience.
What’s your ambition/what do you want to do?
I do still want to carry on with architecture because I do love it, but I do want to do more than one thing, so architecture would be great and then maybe like, having a shop or small business, that would be nice too.
How do you feel seeing your product complete, packaged and on the shelves?
I really love it, the layout for it is amazing. It looks so professional and pretty and just seeing it here, it’s nice having my name on the packaging.
What do you hope to do after this project?
After the completion of this project, I am going to take this learning process with me when working individually. I also aim to improve on areas in which I think I am lacking, such as how to price my work, exploring sustainable materials and skill.
What was your highlight of the project overall?
The highlight of this project overall was experiencing the whole process in leading up to the deadline. I got to learn from and work alongside Eva Sonaike, not just a shop, Creative Shift. And finally, being able to hold my final outcome in my hands.
What’s your ambition?
My ambition is to design/ illustrate my work on as many products, furniture, and textile as much as possible.
How do you feel seeing your product complete, packaged and on the shelves?
As I’ve always wanted to produce work to be sold or displayed, this project was a dream come true! After seeing my final design displayed at not just a shop in High Holborn, I realise what I could improve on in my next project and how I would approach it differently.
What do you hope to do after this project?
I am setting up to sell more of these designed textile homewares, such as cushions, napkins, tea towels and tablecloths, through markets and online. Doing so through my own brand Marogmi.
What was your highlight of the project overall?
Seeing how everyone’s design came together and the steps involved.
What’s your ambition?
I would love to collaborate with places like Anthropologie and design houses. The more I expand my ideas in different creative mediums, the more I understand myself as a practitioner.
How do you feel seeing your product complete, packaged and on the shelves?
It feels so right like it belongs there. it feels like it’s at home which is the feeling I hope my product gives to those who acquire it.