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Beginning with home-made tapes with covers printed in the small hours at Kinko’s, and arriving as owner and director of one of the US’s most important independent hip-hop labels, Sage remains a prolific artist in his own right and has lived every minute of an arduous, determined, sleep-deprived journey toward making creativity pay. Sage’s path to a business in music would put even the most workaholic night owls to shame, but his gentle humour and love of the business remain undiminished and as fierce as ever.
Beginning his studies at a Nuneaton art college, Gareth spent over decade working in special effects before writing, producing, directing, editing and creating special effects for his own partly self-funded microbudget sci-fi film ‘Monsters’. On the back of its success, he was invited by Warner Brothers to direct 2014’s ‘Godzilla', and has recently been signed on as director of Disney/Lucasfilm’s 'Star Wars Rogue One', the spin-off of the legendary film series due for release in December 2016.
Still a practising illustrator, Louisa was director of one of the UK’s most established agencies, Central Illustration in London, before moving to New York to head up multi-disciplinary creative agency Bernstein & Andriulli. Now partner and Head of Integrated Media, she is settled in Manhattan with her husband and daughters, whom you can hear playing in the background of her interview!
A willow artist creating giant sculptures from natural materials, with his collaborations receiving awards from RHS Chelsea, Tom’s work has been installed all over the world from his quiet and productive workshop in rural Warwickshire. Arriving at his current practice via a path as bendy as his sticks, Tom is a fine example of finding your ‘thing’ - and making it your business - through patience and experimentation, failures, successes and early starts in the cold.
Jonathan runs the legendary gallery named after himself on the west side of Manhattan, representing artists who might traditionally have fallen outside a historically narrow definition of ‘art’ before Mr Levine and his energetic embracing of the DIY and punk ethic. He represents and exhibits such well-known artists as Ashley Wood (a collection of whose robot sculptures can be seen behind Strictly Kev in our film), Gary Taxali, Tara McPherson, Ray Caesar and Shepard Fairey. And he’s a really Nice Bloke.
Barely into his twenties, self-taught chef Jed left a chemistry degree to pursue a life in food by walking right into the New York restaurant he wanted to work in, and asking for shift (he got one, followed by a job). Still in the earliest days of his career, Jed’s exuberance and love for his craft have taken him all over the world. He does not have time for a website (he literally doesn’t), but you can see where he currently works here:
A self-taught promoter with three years’ experience pushing bands and events while at university, Rebecca is now a booker at major DJ and music agency Primary Talent. Her path to full-time music promotion reflects a willingness to graft and take chances, and reveals the need to be absolutely organised - and self-motivated!
One of Ninja Tune’s longest-serving artists and part of the pivotal creative crew that defined the label at its outset, Kev juggles smoothly the parallel roles of musician and designer, while spending over two decades DJing around the globe. He now also manages the role of ‘Dad’ to twin boys, and is a voracious blogger and collector. Kev’s route to ‘his dream job’ (his words not ours!) is a shining example of perseverance, chance and seized opportunities.
