3 Day Week

Design Machine in the early Seventies had a studio in the basement of a house in Park Street W1. It was there because of Park Street's proximity to all the record companies. PYE in ATV house, Philips at Marble Arch, HMV Manchester Sq, CBS in Soho Sq. etc. The room was small approx. 12' x 12' into which we crammed 3 Designers and a finished artist. plus any student on work placement. The Grant Enlarger, an essential piece of equipment for any design group stood in the hall next to the toilets under the pavement.  Come the 3 day week we were knackered because, we were only allowed the lights on for 3 days, suggesting that we could only work 3 days in 7. Only the Conservatives could come up with such a stupid plan. It would have been cheeper to give the power workers the money. However the wartime spirit lived on through us. Deadlines were deadlines and we prided ourselves on delivering. It is a strange thing that when money is in short supply people spend more on records, so we were doubly busy. I took out my Jones hand cranked sewing machine and ran up some blackout curtains. Behind these we beavered away producing sleeve after sleeve and adverts for all the breaking records to go into the music press. Some weeks over 50 ads of different sizes were art worked ready for the Friday lunchtime deadline of the likes of NME, Music Week, Record Mirror, Sounds, Billboard etc.
At first we used candles and tilly lamps, but eventually we thought, sod it, and turned on the lights.
They couldn't shoot us.  Could they?

Philps records

My interview with Mike Stamford at Philips Records, lasted about 5 minutes. He gave me a proof of a sleeve that must have given him some grief in the production. He asked me how I would produce the art work. I gave him 3 ways one in the photograph stage, one in the art work stage and one that I wouldn'd have done it anyway as it was crap. In those days I had discarded socks as a waste of space. I had on my best Burtons suit,  a white T shirt a large floral tie Sandy had made for me' suede shoes and no socks. he couldn't take his eyes off my ankles. He said thank you he would be in touch. 'Blown it again', I thought, but much to my surprise and delight, a letter arrived the next day, saying that I had to report to the studio in 3 weeks.
3 WEEKS LATER.
I sat in reception waiting for a call from Mr. Stamford to ask me up to the studio. Eventually I got bored and found my own way. There were 3 large double elephant size desk with high stools. loud music was blaring out from a stereo in the corner. At one desk sat a long legged blond, and at the other a big muscley figure with thick black curly hair and a gap toothed smile.
'Who are you?' he asked. 'The new designer', I said. Mike Stamford had omitted to tell them that he had hired me, and he was on holiday.
'Do you drink?' he said
'I have been known to have one or two', I said.
He looked at his watch. 11.30 'They are open'. So we repaired to the King and Queen on Edgeware Road where we had one or two. I was too pissed to see by 3 pm so I went home to start work the next day.
His name was Robin 'Nick' Nicol, and the blond Linda Glover, eventually his wife. They formed a company named Nicol Glover Ltd. which became Design Machine, with me as it's Creative Director as, Linda, a brilliant designer in her own right retired to the country to do the books and have babies.
By the way Philips bean counters made me redundant after 3 weeks, so I went freelance and made ten times the money out of the company per month than my salary was.
What do they know?