I didn’t plan to be with child in 2018. Neither did I envisage being without a salary years after graduating my LCC bachelors and SOAS masters. I’ve spent years in low-skilled zero hour contracts whilst pursuing my dream of becoming a ‘successful’ fashion designer. 

Dreaming, drawing, designing, simplifying, sourcing, planning, producing, directing, editing, negotiating, pitching. 

Shit! From my first month at SCA it seems these are many of the key skills that are required to kill it in the advertising industry. 

I really enjoy it here. My experience across time and fields are congregating and rearing their heads on Google Slides in the form of ‘sticky’ Silent Movies and Chip Shop Award worthy scamps (Marc said it). 

When I say I enjoy it here, I’m talking about at home in Angell Town, minutes walk from Pop Brixton. I appreciate that SCA has an online cohort otherwise it wouldn’t be possible for me to enrol this year. I attend class from my desk in my living room with my two year old daughter in toe. 

She has recently found her voice, her temper, and always familiarises herself with absolutely anything she shouldn’t be touching, whilst I’m on zoom. Picture toddler with bright lipstick doodled across face. Picture small child climbing furniture twice their height. Picture my daughter removing her nappy and handing me her fresh faeces the first week of school (you can’t make this shit up). 

Week three, all students were grouped to work on the Silent Movie brief. My group was given the title of Voyage and Return to base our project on. Immediately I thought of my friend Rae who takes three trips a week to a local kidney dialysis centre to stay alive. My brain pinged with ideas as to how we could make a super ‘succes(s)’ documentary piece. 

Beyond a brief that dies at my portfolio, I want to edit my own version for kidney disease awareness and pitch it to charities. This project is also somewhat of a homage to a good friend who I can call on anytime (when he’s not hooked up to a blood filter machine) to look after my daughter. Some days you just need the space to think, to read, to research, to write, to listen, to scamp, to work on Adobe – to be a creative – without a toddler hand delivering you warm brown gifts. 

Mike Nicholson told us about his Hollywood Film Director friend Rupert Sanders, who made an incredible short for Sony whilst they were students at CSM in the 80’s. Rupert utilised his talent and the resources available to him at the time to create something special. This was put in front of the right people to get a bigger budget and open doors to opportunities, fortune and fame. 

I have plans.

*This SCAB is titled after Koffee’s hit song. I met her backstage at YAM Festival a few weeks before starting at SCA. 

@thisisyem