Industrial trades for [young] designers
We still think of us as a young project, but when we start to count every person that passed through, we feel like we´ve already lived multiple lives. All these people left something behind, probably influencing what TMDC is today.
Last February, part of the team came to London and we took the chance to meet with (almost) all those interns that, for a while, broke bread with us at TMDC Barcelona. Most of Kingston University’s students came because a student, one level above, told them about their experience here. Seeing that big group of people getting together and talking about where they are now made us proud. It felt like a mix of family and a class reunion at once.
It wasn’t our intention to influence so greatly people’s paths, but talking to them, we really felt that the time spent here did make an impact. “Staying that first night in a disused warehouse with no running water or electricity was a character-building experience! (One that I do not regret)” – Marley Willings.
The Basics
Marley Willings was the first to come. When we had our first interview and talked about the internship, I remember telling him that we had just lost our workshop, and that we were moving into a new space with nothing in it. I asked him if that was ok, and he very bravely jumped in.
TMDC was an extremely bootstrap project. The warehouses we moved into were abandoned for over five years (some even 15 years), stripped of everything except the bricks. They were just waiting to be demolished.
“The near-death experience with the factory explosion has definitely stayed with me but maybe not one for the newsletter…”
This very basic setup is a big part of what we are today. It makes you understand the value of things. And it wasn’t just at the beginning; in 2020, one week before the COVID lockdown started, a nearby gas tank exploded, resulting in casualties and several injured people.
Obviously, this is not a situation you want to find yourself in, nor the explosion, nor starting your professional career in a place or project that has no resources. But once you go through an experience like that, you can’t help but be grateful for what you have learned.
“At TMDC, I saw a workplace culture of people who could enjoy the work they’re doing, welcome new people into a space, and bicker between each other like family. Shared meals and laughter were commonplace, and thoughts on how you can live while working came up. TMDC introduced me to a healthy workshop culture I could look for in other spaces once I left.” – Pat Daniels.
When you’re at that basic level, you’re surrounded by people who are there because they love what they do. Both the team behind the project and the people who come to it. There are no fancy perks. It’s about starting from the ground up. Today, it’s a goal of ours to maintain some of that rough setup that reminds us where we came from, but more importantly, gives us space to create any possible future we get inspired to pursue. There’s nothing to lose.
Community, People & Culture
We are always talking about having space and machines to do your project. This is what TMDC offers. This is why people sign up for it in the first place. But Marley reminded us why people stay: “Being at TMDC taught me to be part of a community and how to share a space with respect for others.”
It isn’t “our” community, though. It isn’t something we own. There’s not even “the community”; we’d rather say it’s an ecosystem of many smaller communities with loose individuals who interact with each other. Within this community, the personal chats, the insights shared, the common goals, and the pains—this is the glue that holds us together. Ultimately creating a launch platform “TMDC taught me the value of community—how sharing ideas and supporting each other can seriously boost your confidence.” – Sophia Matheou.
While we don’t create communities, we create excuses for people to start intersecting with each other. It’s like leaving holes in the pavement so plants can grow. We initiate events and activities, which the community can later reappropriate and make their own so that things continue happening after we’re gone. It’s a big challenge to create a project where people take ownership, but it’s the only way for it to last. One of these excuses was the pizza oven-building course run by Tatiana Melo.
“It was interesting to learn about the materials and structures used, and additionally, exciting to be able to use the oven once built to feed the TMDC family every week!”
TMDC serves as both a base camp and a landing platform for those arriving in a new city, as well as for those just beginning their professional journey. As Milo Tonry put it, “TMDC gave me a home in a new country among like-minded creatives. It has had a massive impact on me as a designer and maker and as a person.” For many, the most lasting memories of TMDC aren’t just about the workshop or the materials, but about the people they met and the stories they created together.
“A favourite memory of mine isn’t workshop-related but traveling up the mountains to eat calçots as a group. It really solidified TMDC in my mind as a family of people.”
“A favourite memory of mine isn’t workshop-related but traveling up the mountains to eat calçots as a group. It really solidified TMDC in my mind as a family of people.” As Pat Daniels says, it’s a place where you can grow a community, build friendships, and find collaborators. It’s not just about the work you create; it’s about building lasting relationships.
The unexpected, you didn’t come for that
If I am ever asked for valuable advice from when I was young, it would be to keep open space for the unexpected, planning time for appreciation and at the end of each project, celebration!
“Making masks for the hospitals was one of the prouder moments for sure. Ironically, we had to pretend not to live there when they came round to collect the masks.” – Matthew Robinson.
COVID really showed us that. Who would have known? As we got locked up, we were scared of the unknown. But looking back, it was a great time to be in a workshop. Not just because we had open space to chill on the terrace, but because having all the machines at our disposal made us ready for action when ideas sprouted. We could prototype and share them in no time. And so some of the first masks to help nurses stay safe were prototyped here. After, as the industry turned its motors back on, production was moved and it became much faster. But these first iterations had to be done in the first line of action.
And it’s not just about the machines, but even more so about the materials. About being able to touch them, feel them, and see them in relation to others. About surprising yourself with them. For that, you need to experiment and do that knowing that most probably nothing will come out.
“I developed a newfound appreciation for handmade objects and furniture. I learned that concrete casting is equal parts science, patience, and ‘please don’t let this crack.’ It really taught me the power of experimentation.”
Design and Making Business
The more obvious reasons for people to join TMDC’s team are the making part. TMDC is a place to fabricate; we are all about our machines and what you can do with them. “The variety of materials and processes available to a designer is the perfect concoction for creative processes to be learned and developed upon.” – Matthew Robinson.
TMDC is a business. We try to make it a good one, with all that that implies. But, like most of us, we know we have bills to pay and a team that should be able to live well in this city of Barcelona. We also have aspirations to make it an ever better place to work. We try to create awareness about this throughout the team.
“I now run my own business using many valuable skills learned at TMDC, especially having my own creative freedom for my projects while maintaining business essentials.”
In the creative fields, there seems to be this controversy between making money and being creative, especially today when we’re becoming more aware of the ecosocial challenges that can’t be ignored. So, we take time to reflect on this as a team, and this influences the future of the people that pass through here.
“Working at TMDC allowed me to build up my practical skill set and knowledge in a range of different materials and machinery.” – Eleanor Murphy.
What’s interesting here is being part of the whole process. From thinking about the idea to having it out in the world, being used by someone. For years, we’ve tried to separate these aspects in universities, especially here in Spain. For too long we’ve thought that “concept” and “material” should be separated. People who do one don’t do the other. But today we’ve realized that most designers have lost their relationship with the material—what people will see, touch, feel, hear.
“The knowledge gained from my time at TMDC that I value the most would be that of autonomy and responsibility as a designer maker. Bringing a project into fruition and seeing it through to the end by yourself is an opportunity very few get to experience at such a young age in London.””
At TMDC, we’re looking for this balanced relationship between designing as a method, making as a practice, and business as a base. With these three elements, we feel future objects and spaces will thrive. And we didn’t mention social and ecological because we believe those should be intrinsic to anything we generate for this world.
Enjoy what ya doin
“Today I’m working as a gardener because I realized wood and metal working weren’t going to be a professional pathway for me. I saw people at TMDC doing what they wanted to be doing, so returning to the U.K. I decided to find my thing.” – Pat Daniels.
Pat was one of the last to intern with us, and after working with us, Pat decided to do something completely different. We believe it makes sense. That Pat got inspired to do their own thing is a precious takeaway. It feels like it should be the norm. But sadly, many people believe otherwise, staying at a job just because it seems like everyone else is doing the same. We are here for the passionate, to encourage them whatever they choose to do.
“The less obvious contribution which I potentially value more was learning the importance of understanding the importance of your own work. Then subsequently gaining the confidence to see yourself as creative and produce, document, and visualize your work as such.”
To be able to know if you are doing what is right for you, you need space to take your own decisions. Being able to recognize them as yours and take ownership will also give you the power to change direction if you see it doesn’t fit. It isn’t in somebody else’s hands, but all in yours.
Knowing your machines, your materials, and having a strong community around you, you are empowered to choose and face any challenge you feel drawn to.
Thanks to Marley Willings , Matthew Robinson, Pat Daniels, Eleanor Murphy and Sophia Matheou for your insights during your internship at TMDC.
If you are interested in collaborating with us send us your CV and motivation letter to taller@tmd.es , we are always looking forward to meet and support creatives!