Alex Russell questions and answers

Being Freelance

Q What would you say are the advantages of working freelance rather than working in a studio?

A I like being my own boss (although I'm a bit of a slave driver).  My ambitions have changed a little since i started (i used to do some fine art, plus illustration that wasn't fashion and textile related), but i like the variety of working for different clients, doing (say) contract furnishings one week and high street fashion the next.  I don't think you can be nearly as flexible in a studio setup.

Q Will i have to work hard if I'm freelance?

A Be prepared to work very hard, very hard.  Think run up a degree show, add an extra bit and imagine that the whole year round, especially when you first start.  You do need to be really self motivated, especially if things aren't selling.  This isn't meant to put you off; if you love doing it, it will be fine, but unless your very, very lucky, it is a lot of work. 

Q Is it important to hit deadlines and answer briefs?

A Being able to keep to deadlines and answer deadliness is completely important-if you produce something that is too late and isn't what the client wanted anyway, they are unlikely to use you again.  

Q What made you go freelance?

A I chose to go freelance because i thought it would give me more variety and challenges.  I like working in lots of different styles and really like being my own boss.  Doing this is definitely a vocation for me rather than just a Job, I'm very lucky.  I know what i want to do, i get to spend all day doing it, and people seem to want to pay me for doing it. 

Q What advise would you give to people getting started freelance?

A To a large degree, its not what you know but who you know.  this is a cliche, but is very true.  Your address book should be one of your most prized possessions and you should always be adding to it.  

Don't wait for people to  come to you, it vital you get your work seen.  Get out there, knock on doors.  Art and design is a worldwide business, don't be afraid of making contacts anywhere.  

Don't be scared, the worst that can happen is that someone can say no, if they do, be polite and ask them if there is anyone else they know that might be interested in what you do.  

Be patient, it can take months or even years for a client to get back to you.

  

Be prepared to work very hard.  

Never, ever be tempted to mess with copyright laws.  its a surprisingly small world and if you rip some people off, others won't touch you with a barge-pole.  

Be flexible, but not stupidly so.  You should try and say "yes, i can do that for you" to as many clients as possible (especially when you first set up), but you need to be realistic about what is physically possible.

Don't waste any time doing lots of research to find the best bank; they are all pretty much the same.  if ethical investment is important, go with a co-op.  You should have a business account, but if you trade in your own name and don't tell the bank, you can just make this a normal current account and not have to pay business account charges.  

Keep on top of your books (accounts), if you don't think you can do this, or if your just starting out, get a good accountant.

Self motivation is vital; you also need to be able to enjoy working under pressure and to have good time management skills.  Finally, if you enjoy doing the designs, it will show, don't forget to have fun.  

Q What's the biggest difference being a student and working freelance?

A The time factor, generally speaking, you have to work much, much faster than when your a student and you don't have the time to explore heaps of different ideas.  Its important to get good at quickly working out if an ideas has legs (or if it good, but not right in this particular context).  Of course, this is where past experience come in handy, and these skills start to grow as a student when you have got the time.  it's not unusual for me to out together 10 or so designs in a couple of days.  

Alex Russell

I have been on Alex Russell's website because he works from a freelance design studio and this is what I want to eventually do.  His current clients are in fashion and interior, he also predicts future trends.  He has a very useful link to the most popular questions he has been asked from students like myself who are thinking of becoming freelance designers.  At the moment i am researching into how agents can be found, how to find the best trend predictions, what equipment i should invest in, how to find a business partner, what grants i can apply for and the best way to execute my designs.  I have not found all the answers on the questions and answers link but he has answered a few and it has also made me think of other things that i hadn't thought of, like other ways in which i could show my designs (on a CD) and the fact that going to trade fairs (such as Indigo) is a very good way to start building relationships with agents and can lead to making appointments to go and show them your work. He has given very useful advise about the nature of being a freelance designer which has helped me gain a better understanding of how hard it is in the beginning when things might not be selling but it takes great motivation in order to succeed.  He also talks about the importance of building contacts. 

Printsource New York

Printsource New York is a trade fair for textiles.  They hold three shows a year showing surface and textile designs from 10 different Countries.  They have a fashion review their held by the worlds leading trend forecasters. Paper and Cloth advertised on their website that they had attended Printsource New York on the 24th August 2010.  

Print Tank Questionnaire

How did you initially start Print Tank and why?

What do you think makes you a good team/business partners?

Did you carry out any Market Research when you first started out?

What is the most valuable thing you have learnt as a designer?

Do you know of any grants that are worth applying for being over 30?

Would you advise having savings in place before starting as a freelance designer?

Have you ever taken any business courses, if so which ones would you recommend?

What equipment do you have set up in your studio in order to achieve your day to day work?

which trade shows do you personally take part in per year ?

Do you employ an Agent? Accountant? (full/part)

Have you been effected by our current financial crisis, if so how has this effected you?

What advise would you give to any new designer in 2011?

Print Tank

Print Tank are based in Camden, Rose Barber and Sian Evans have both run there own business since 2004 and produce pattern surface designs for fashion.  I am very interested in the nature of what they do because I myself want to be a freelance designer, at first I will have to work from home because I need to start earning money before I could think about getting my own studio.  I spoke to both girls last year about how they started out and they were telling me about how they worked from home to begin with, with just the minimum equipment to print off their designs and take them along to the trade fairs.  They are both extremely talented and it was there hard work that payed off and led them to eventually be-able to afford the studio right in the heart of Camden.  All of their designs are hand drawn and then manipulated using computer aided design.  I am in the process of putting together a number of questions which they will hopefully have the time to answer, my questions are all linked to starting off, the more i find out the easier it will be a successful designer.  

Research into freelance work (Joshua Johnson)

I have been researching into things I need to consider for becoming a freelance designer when I leave college. How do I promote myself in order to attract potential clients? I found a website today called Design Shack, here Joshua Johnson who has been a freelancer for many years gives very useful information about how to go about getting your portfolio seen. Joshua Johnson has signed up to all the free portfolio sites, he has recommended Coroflot, krop, Sortfolio and Carbonmade. he says that online portfolios are becoming more and more popular because the more content you have on the web the more search-ability you will have.

Another good way to tell potential clients about who you are and what kind of work you do is by designing your own website. He shows how to make a single page portfolio called 10 expert tips for designing a one page portfolio. You can click on the highlighted text to have a look.

Looking for work as a freelance designer seems daunting to me as I have no experience in selling my work or who to sell it to so I am researching other designers to get ideas and hopefully get advise that can help me as a beginner. Joshua Johnson says that there are job sites such as monster and Hot jobs but because there are thousands of applicants its very difficult to actually find work through them, however its still worth applying but not for a regular income. He highly reccommends a website called craigslist, the best sources for contacting potential clients apparently come from this site, if you are interested in a job you just send out am email to the provided email address. You can send a link to your online portfolio, i can see why it is important for your portfolio to stand out because there will be thousands of applicants for one job!

Another way to search for freelance jobs is by doing a search on Google. Joshua says that he very recently used google maps to search jobs and found it to be very good, he got quite a few jobs out of it. he searched for marketing agencies, design firms and printers. he says when you click on a business you can go to there website and locate there contact information. You can then send them a friendly email to introduce yourself and your work.

Twitter has a thriving design community that can open you to opportunities and is one he uses from time to time. There are smaller job boards such as freelance switch. The smaller sites will attract less traffic which could work to your advantage.

He recommends that before you take on any work, you should know how you will be billing the client. I have found one called paypal, this is an online invoicing system set up to be safe, fast and effective. Most online payment systems are either free or very affordable.

Jennie Rivers-Paper&Cloth (Portfolio Contact)

paper & cloth are a pattern surface design studio based in Northampton.  They Produce designs for women's, Interior, Stationary and children, each designer is promoted under their own name to the industry and clients.  The artists earn commission through their online portfolio or directly through the studio.


I spoke to Jennie Rivers about my portfolio, she displayed my A3 designs out on the table and discussed each one, She firstly put a few of my designs together and took me through the reasons the designs did not seemed resolved to her, the teapots for instance just seemed to be in the wrong placement, however she did say that teapots are an extremely lucrative market and if you get it right they are a big money maker for accessories.  She mentioned that she liked the linear aspect of my drawing and its style.  She said if i dotted them around the page in different directions this might have worked. 

Jennie picked out the fridge design, typewriters and bikes as her favorite and said they were brilliant, I was really pleasantly surprised when she said I had raw talent and should trust my instinct more, she said that the bike design with the slogan 'get a move on' she said the placement of it was perfect and fully resolved.  She commented on my drawing style and said it reminded her of a girl that works in her studio, she said it was playful and refreshing.  The other two designs which were the typewriter and fridge's she said reminded her of Andy Warhol because of the bright clashing colors.  She said these were her favorite, but the typewriter was her top favorite because of the scale and the placement and the drawing she said was really great.

I was really taken back by her enthusiasm for my portfolio and walked away from it with a new found confidence in my drawing ability.