Last year, we provided our first-ever opportunity to collaborate with you – our community, to deliver a series of workshops partnered with Generation Works. Designed for those who wanted to kickstart their career within the creative industry. These workshops lifted off the lid to the industry through hands-on experiences and real-world insight.

Our knowledge fuelled workshops gave attendees a chance to be featured on our latest Communi-T. A one-time offering to those who want to share their designs with friends or family and have their own official Footpatrol apparel collaboration. From copywriting, image making, screen printing, and content creation. Participants were able to get a real taste of the ins and outs of a marketing campaign from idea to execution. 

Featuring guest speakers; Will Stowe, Mark Ward, London Print Club, and Footpatrol’s very own marketing team. Attendees were provided the tools and knowledge handed down by experts in the creative industry. Offering their own experiences to the table as well as assisting participants in their content creation and ideas.  

Closing of the community workshop initiative, we are pleased to finally announce our winners! To celebrate all their hard work, we sat down with Connor, Amber, Max, Jason, and Shezy to find out a little more about their experiences, skills, and newfound knowledge.

We would also like to say a massive thank you to all of those who attended all of our workshops. It was such a memorable moment of the year that this year, we’ll be doing it again this year! Share what you’d like to see by filling out this quick questionnaire, HERE!

Footpatrol: We appreciate the time and effort that you have taken out of your busy schedules to take part. For our FP audience that may be unfamiliar with who you are and what you do, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Connor: ​​My name is Connor, I’m a graphic designer. I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil in my hand, and then just never stopped. Always had a passion for design, illustration, graffiti, and stickers. Love a sticker.

Amber: My name’s Amber, but I also go by the pet name Wolfie and a handful of other nicknames. I’m currently working as an Agent/Producer for the incredible multidisciplinary agency WEBBER and I’m also the founder of my much loved, but as of late, much neglected storytelling platform, Sin Milagros.

Max: My name is Max, I’m a last-year marketing student. I like sneakers and vinyls.

Jason: My name is Jason. I’m currently working in the financial services industry but I’ve always had a creative side to me. I’ve dabbled in art and music amongst other things but I defiantly love putting my mind to creating artistic solutions and collecting trainers.

Shezy: Hi my name is Shezy. I am currently working at Barbour. I have had an obsession with sneakers since I was a teenager, as well as clothing and fashion as a whole. I haven’t studied fashion but have been trying to break into that world in my own way. 

FP: What attracted you to sign up for this workshop with Footpatrol?

C: I saw the image-making course advertised on Footpatrol’s Instagram. It’s not everyday you see a course like this available. I thought well I quite enjoy making images, I like Footpatrol, no harm in applying. Was also interested to see what other like-minded people could come up with. 

A: I heard about the workshop through friends and at the time I was working freelance as a Community manager and Events producer for the wonderful Paul Smith’s Foundation – so I was eager to see what creative workshops were out there, as well as working on my copywriting which was proving to be a big part of my role.

M: Honestly, mostly curiosity. The description said that these workshops should give us a look at the processes that we, as consumers, don’t really see. Because often, we give credit to the big brands for creating the community that all of us are a part of and overlook the real people who are behind it and engage with us.

J: I saw the workshop on FootPatrol’s Instagram and thought this would be a great opportunity to get my ideas out in the world through a brand I trust and appreciate. It’s not everyday you get the chance to try something you don’t always do and you know you’ve been given the platform to get your ideas out whilst being supported by the Footpatrol and Re: Generation marketing and community team.

S: I saw it as a notification on my phone, and it led me to the page with all the information. I was genuinely interested in just getting to hear from all the amazing people at the workshops about their journeys and how they got to the fields that they did. It’s interesting just to see how people end up doing what they do as well as trying different things. It can really open up your mind. So I was hooked on the idea immediately. 

FP: Could you tell us a little bit about the workshop you attended and your involvement in this selected workshop?

C: My course was run by the talented illustrator Mark Ward. He told us about his inspirations, processes, and the jobs he has been involved in. We were then given a brief to create an image from a caption created from the copywriting course. We sketched images that first came to mind, to then hone them into a full-fledged idea.

A: I was part of the copywriting workshop where the lovely Will Stowe gave a presentation on his career as a copywriter. We were then set a series of tasks to come up with a line of copy based on various mock briefs.

M: I attended two workshops. The first was focused on copywriting and hosted by legendary Will Stowe. As Amber mentioned, there we did a few exercises on how to come up with a creative copy. It was really fun and interesting, especially hearing some stories from Will and meeting new people. The other one was about creating and planning the marketing campaign. I enjoyed that one a lot. We met with an amazing marketing team, who guided us throughout the whole process, from the initial brief to the execution of our ideas. At each step of the process, we got some valuable insights into how things are actually done.

J: I attended the campaign creation workshop which was run by FootPatrol’s marketing team. We got to hear the background and job roles of everyone that’s pretty much involved in a campaign. It was nice as we put faces to the work we see soo much. We were given the task of creating a photo campaign for the t-shirt and slogan that had already been designed and selected in the other workshops. The goal was to set up a three-image campaign that would be used on Instagram initially, and in those three images convey the message that encapsulated the campaign.

S: I was lucky enough to attend both the 2nd Workshop and the 4th and final one. Both were really intense experiences in the best way possible. The original workshop I attended was about illustration and design by the ever-talented Mark Ward. It really opened up my eyes to what goes on behind the scenes as an art creative working with clients. Mark made it so much fun and interactive. The task we were given was such a mental workout for me and made me appreciate the graphic designers and artists out here so much more.
The other workshop I attended was the campaign creation one. This was a real home run for me honestly the guys at FP were lovely and really fleshed out life in the industry as we as what potential roles exist in campaigns. It really got me into my element and I was so involved with every bit of the task we were given as well as the absolute free reign they gave us to do anything we wished creatively. Whilst still helping me and the team out by keeping us on track and just nudging us in the right direction. I honestly couldn’t be more over the moon with the whole experience.

FP: What was the most valuable thing that you learned during this time?

C: Working with clients for design I know how important a brief is. It’s easy to read one and think oh yeah I’ve got an idea then just to run with it. I learned from Mark to actually dissect a brief and to milk it for every idea you can. There may be things there that are not noticeable at first glance.

A: I can be incredibly precious or overthink when it comes to my creative outlets to the point it can hold me back from doing something – with a lot of the tasks we went through on the day, we were required to produce something in very short and strict time frames which forced me adapt and just get something down. I guess overall the valuable thing I learned is trying to be a perfectionist can hinder you more than serve.

M: Generally, learning about the processes that take place behind the product rollout and participating in them. Also, getting some knowledge from people with real experience.

J: I learned that when you only have a short amount of time to complete a campaign, every idea can be a great idea but you need to drill down to the one that matches what you’re trying to get across as soon as possible, so I had to be concise and decisive.  I also learned that whatever we’re doing, the message that you’re trying to get across should be memorable, relatable, and simple enough to grasp for anybody. Otherwise, your campaign’s not going to reach and connect with your target audience.

S: Having a clearer vision than Evian, and that’s not to say that the idea can not evolve into something else. Our idea changed drastically throughout the days but the most important part was being able to get it to be as clear and well thought out as possible. Really thinking about all angles how you want it, where? when? Who? Just every aspect possible. If you have that it’s so much easier to feel comfortable and confident with your idea and just nail it.

FP: What task stood out the most to you and why

C: Once given a few words from the brief we had to come up with as many ideas just based on these words as we could. For me this was a great mental exercise, really makes you think of alternatives to the obvious. 

M: At the end of the campaign workshop, we had to take some pictures of our final ideas. It was really interesting to see how much our initial ideas were changing during this process because we had to get the most use out of the set and available tools.

J: The task that stood out the most for me was when we were trying to get the ideas we had put down on paper with the ideal shots and backgrounds to come to life. Having a vision and then executing it are two very different things, but getting them to marry up was a great challenge. It also let me know that being flexible and open to new ideas/information once you’ve started can be a real blessing.

S: Our initial idea for the campaign was a real fire starter. We were all spitballing ideas of what the initial idea could be. What props we could use and how. What the set narrative would be and how all this would translate to mobile and someone just scrolling up their IG feed. It was all such an exciting and fun task the guys at FP really made it so that we really had no limits to what we could do. So the sky and our imagination were really our limits. There were so many great ideas from serious to really quirky and funny. We were all constantly adapting and adding to our ideas to make them better. It was an intense and challenging process but so rewarding and satisfying. 

FP: Could you describe your initial thought processes when completing this certain task, did you have any tactics to win? 

C: I was basically given a playbook of the thought process needed, the rest was left up to me to get my ideas on paper. Was like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it stuck if I’m honest. No tactics to win though, I was just there for a good time and to gather inspiration.

A: In all honesty I think I came into the workshop with the intention of being more of an observer than any ambition to win which perhaps is a winning tactic in itself – focusing less on the outcome and more on the experience.

No tactics at all. To be completely honest, I didn’t even think of winning. I just went there to find out more about the industry that I am very interested in. However, I was a bit stressed in the beginning, as I have never done anything like this. But as I mentioned before, thanks to the valuable insights and feedback from the team, I enjoyed the whole experience.

J: My initial thought process was to create something that would grab my attention if I was insta-scrolling. So when trying to complete the task, I wanted images that would stand out. Show some emotion without being emotional, and above all else be relatable and recognisable. I didn’t set out to win, but I set out to give my best so that when it was all said and done I knew I’d tried everything to make the greatest campaign I could. It just so happens I also won.

S: I really wasn’t there with a mindset to win as much as I just wanted to absorb and learn from the experience as much as possible. So there wasn’t any pressure but more so me challenging myself to get the most out of the opportunity. Being given so much creative freedom and such an amazing team of people to work with to make our vision a reality was beyond what I could ever ask for. I really wanted to put that team and opportunity to good use and create something I am really proud of and that is truly a great representation of me and my vision. 

FP: Now that your amazing work will be featured on our latest Communi-T series, how will you celebrate this success? 

C: Probably frame the t-shirt. Not everyday you have a collaborated t-shirt with footpatrol that’s amongst an incredible library of past artists and designers.

A: T-shirts for my nearest and dearest. 

M:  Probably will tell my parents and grandparents about it. Also, getting it signed by the FP team and framing it sounds like a good idea.

S: (His Heirness) Bradley Martinez is going to do a sneaker shopping ep with me but where he pays for all the shoes I pick at the FP store. 

J: I’m making sure everyone knows that I helped put this t-shirt out in the world, and I’ll wear mine all the time so if someone asks me about it, I’ve got a great story to tell.

FP: For individuals that are looking to sign up for workshops in the future with Footpatrol, what advice would you give them?

C: Couldn’t recommend it enough. All the staff involved made it such a great place to be.

A: Do it, do it, do it – it was a lot of fun and you’ll be in great company.

M: Definitely go for it, and don’t overthink too much.

J: Jump in feet first, don’t worry too much about your past experience. Just be open to meeting new people. Learning, and giving your best because you’ll enjoy the experience way more if you do.

S: You have nothing to lose, and you miss every shot you don’t take. Like a certain brand might say Just Do It. 

This year, we’ll be doing series 2 of our community workshops, to share what you’d like to see, CLICK HERE!