At the end of a cobbled street,
in a renovated pharmaceutical
factory in Bethnal Green, is a
pocket of London’s East End that
has been our home since 2014.
One of the beauties of the setup
here is the flexibility to scale up
as you grow, which has certainly
made life easier for Make as we’re
constantly adding new desks
The building has all the charms
expected of a converted factory.
High ceilings, large windows, great
natural light, lab tile flooring and,
of course, lots of exposed brick
walls. When taking on the space,
you literally get an empty unit with
tall, white walls. The rest is up to
you. So, over the last five years,
we’ve worked to turn that into a
collaborative work space.Our breakout area is so important
for us [1]. It’s where we pull
ourselves away from the screens,
chat about ideas and collaborate.
We installed a Mac mini behind the
screen, allowing us to discuss and
test development and prototypes
throughout the project.
We develop and maintain many
ecommerce stores and are forever
shooting product shots. Good light
is vital and our studio is rigged with
top equipment to ensure the shots
are on-point [2]. In such a busy
working environment, wireless,
noise-cancelling headphones
are vital [3]. We currently have 12
people in the studio and it can get
loud. When it’s time to get in the
zone, noise-cancelling headphones
are an absolute must.As we spend lots of time inside,
we’ve flooded the studio with
plants on every single desk and
shelf [4]. It looks wonderful
and definitely creates a better
atmosphere to work in. And right
outside our door is a communal
table tennis table, which is perfect
for unwinding with a beer on a
Friday afternoon [5].
We not only benefit from the
building’s charms but also the
collaboration opportunities
available on our doorstep. Each of
the building’s floors are lined with
talent – developers, photographers
and graphic designers – who are
more than happy to collaborate and
share ideas in the communal areas.
And when it’s time to get away
from the screens, we’re regulars at
a couple of Bethnal Green’s locals,
which are hidden gems. Especially
those craft beer bars under the
railway arches.Witcherley is co-founder of Make, a digital
agency. His background is in digital design, UX
and UI and he leads teams that create sites,
web apps and digital products.
PROFILEMAKE
Tom Witc herle y explains how photography equipment and
plants help the digital agency stamp its mark on the industry
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