Tanita Tikaram Blog: March 2010

This week’s TT Test is taken by designer Afroditi Krassa [link]. Afroditi studied pr

oduct design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and under Ron Arad at the Royal College of Art. She was the first woman to be hired by design duo Seymour Powell and founded her own award-winning consultancy in 2002 with an impressive client list including Ligne Roset, John Lewis, Pret-a-manger, Sketch, DKNY, and The Big Issue among others. The most recognizable example of her work is probably the interiors and branding that she created for the Japanese food chain Itsu. Afroditi is a great talent and a very lively conversationalist; I’m thrilled that she has taken the time to answer the TT test !! What is your wake up song at the moment? I don't wake up to music. Music is a night thing for me. It has to be dark. I have fallen in love with Martha Wainwright’s voice lately and have revisited her duet with Snowpatrol “Set the fire to the third bar”, I got hooked once again. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession? Meeting and working alongside Julian Metcalfe, the founder of Pret a Manger and itsu. There are just not enough people like Julian in this world. He has a force and creative energy, which I have never come across before and an enormous capacity to inspire and connect to people. He has taught me some of the most memorable lessons, the kind of things that you only click about a few years later and realize how wise someone is; he has been a client, a mentor and a sort of father all rolled into one. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why? This is a no-brainer for me; it’s got to be Classical Greece. We are talking about a time when you had a Goddess specializing in the protection of prostitutes, a God of wine which you celebrated by getting totally high on alcohol an drugs, free theatre, as well as a chance to work on projects like the Parthenon. 2,500 years later, are we missing out on something? I love eating out and discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me? Try Paneri, in Wood Green, London, a small family-run, Greek Cypriot restaurant. I have been taking friends of mine there for years; you have to be prepared to face a feast of delicious, simple, homemade Greek food. I leave feeling like a little child who just visited their grandmother’s place for lunch on a warm, Sunday afternoon. What is the best advice you ever been given relating to your professional/creative life? Ron Arad told me to never to fall in love with my own work. BONUS QUESTION: I'm fascinated by how all the designers I know are both creative and business people. When I say 'business people' I mean they are confident about selling themselves in the market place whereas I as a songwriter have the buffer of management who both protect me from and present me to a commercial world. How do you balance those two sides in your working life and is it possible to be a successful designer if you do not have this very strong entrepreneurial spirit? I don't think that designers are very good business people. However, I think good designers are passionate about design and its significance within our cultural and economical system. In the absence of a professional representation body (like an agent or a management team), we have to find ourselves channels for our work to reach the public, where it should be. Selling a good design should be an easy job, after all as creatives we are trained to communicate on a very high visual and verbal level. However, “selling” is only one of the skills that a good business person should have. Unfortunately, most designers lack all other skills necessary to run a successful business.