Foggish Design
Niomi Fogden
01/ Why did you get into the industry?
Ever since I moved in to my first flat when I was a teenager I’ve always done all of my own decorating and a certain amount of what would now be called upcycling. Although back then you only had the option of a heavy gloss paint to transform your bargain furniture finds. Today we have such a wide choice of eco friendly products to use, including no VOS paints. After a career in beauty and fashion I was able to combine skills I’d gained along the way in my former hobby and launch Muck N Brass as a full time business. There wasn’t much great up cycling five years ago, it was all chalk paint and shabby chic. I wanted to bring a luxury finish to old furniture, which is where I coined the term ‘The Original Luxecycler’.
02/ Describe Muck N Brass in five words
Mercurial but reliably creative. (I’ve decided the full stop counts as a word)
03/ What made you say yes to collaborating with me?
I loved your work, it’s original with a humorous edge. I thought you would be a great fit and loved your ‘everythings possible’ attitude.
04/ Have you collaborated with others before?
Yes, I often collaborate, all of Muck N Brass wallpaper and fabric designs are collaborations. I feel very strongly about how it’s so important to support independent artists and share their talent with the world. Foggish was the first in house take over, where someone physically came and joined our extremely small and busy workshop.
05/ How do you feel it went?
Better than I could’ve imagined, it was so productive and bloody good fun! It was fantastic watching how well you slotted in with working alongside the madness!
06/ Things you loved the most about the collab?
It’s hard to pick one specific thing, as we did so much! Our ‘Shit Gift’ wrapping paper is a winner but I love the illustrations you did of me, it’s actually my new phone wallpaper!
07/ Anything you struggled with?
Struggled? I don’t even know what that word means….
08/ What new skills did you learn?
I think you blew Abi’s mind teaching her photoshop shortcuts, you are now a photoshop God in her eyes! But what I learned from this experience was how to manage two people, who are doing totally different things at the same time. I’m even more prepared than I was before for our next member of staff.
09/ Was it what you expected it to be like?
It was everything I expected - you were shit, I’m only joking! My expectations were blown away, we all bounced off each other, produced so much and continued to have fun the whole time!
10/ What would you have changed?
I honestly can’t think of anything!
11/ Was the length of time right?
I think two weeks was a perfect amount of time because you got to see how much we do at Muck N Brass in such a short period of time! But to have you with us longer would have been great too, Abi would have got you to do all the furniture prepping!
12/ Your SM presence is very active, how did you manage it & do you feel this has helped build your brand?
I’ve always known Instagram was going to be huge when I first started posting my work in 2014 but not many businesses where really utilising it back then. It’s definitely been a big part of our brand growth and most of our customers have come from it.
Muck N Brass is completely built on social media, because my taste is pretty niche, but with the whole world to sell to using social media, niche can be huge.
13/ Any advice for people looking to collaborate?
I’ve always known Instagram was going to be huge when I first started posting my work in 2014 but not many businesses where really utilising it back then. It’s definitely been a big part of our brand growth and most of our customers have come from it.
Muck N Brass is completely built on social media, because my taste is pretty niche, but with the whole world to sell to using social media, niche can be huge.
14/ How has this experience helped you?
It can be very lonely working on your own brand, so working on collaborations with brands can really open you up to lots of ideas and relationships. It’s good for the soul.
15/ Would you do it again?
Yes definitely.
01/ Why did I approach Muck N Brass?
Have you seen their feed? Exactly. Muck N Brass has been one of those accounts that I've followed for ages, whose stories are the only things on par with their products, they're funny AF and so jokey that I've wondered for a long time what it would be like to work with them. I thought Zoe's sense of humour and fun quirky taste went quite nicely with mine and whilst I wasn't sure what we could do together I knew I definitely wanted to do something.
02/ Describe Muck N Brass in five words
Bold, creative, fun, unique, quirky
03/ How did I approach Muck N Brass?
I sent Zoe a message on Instagram from my Foggish account (so she could see my work and style) I told her how much I loved her work, what I did for a living and what I wanted to do for the next year ie. Working very short contracts with lots of small businesses and people that inspire me. I asked her if she needed any help and whether she would be up for a collaboration.
04/ Have you collaborated with others before?
Not really, I've always wanted to but it never seemed to be the right moment.
05/ How do you feel it went?
Completed it mate. Bloody loved getting to know them, I think there's still a few things I need to work on, my videoing skills for one (Abi should run a masterclass on this) and also just being a bit more confident in myself. I was so in awe of everything Zoe has achieved I'd find myself almost taking a bit of a back seat and then I'd be chatting with Abi who would remind me that Zoe has never said yes to an in-house collab before and that kind of talk would make think yeah, I need to own this. You hear the expression collaboration over competition all the time but I think it's rare that you actually get to experience it fully.
06/ Things you loved the most about the collab?
A big part of me wanting to collaborate with others aside from learning new skills is to actually meet people IRL outside of Social media and hopefully make friends, so that was a big one for me. A series of kick-ass prints of celebs in crazy hats and turning Zoe into a Mariah Carey style Christmas Card. Oh and Mike's knowledge of pretty much all things, he is a walking episode of Q.I. The disco lights toilet was pretty epic too, I've never had so much fun pooing.
07/ Anything you struggled with?
The morning London commute. Work wise I'd say the hardest part was wanting to help but not knowing how. They're such an effective team, when things got extra busy I could see they needed help but by the time they'd have shown/explained it to me they'd have lost even more time. I just focused on the things I could help out with mostly design wise. Oh and not feeding Dave, that was killer but honestly his farts were enough for anyone to pull the emergency brakes.
08/ What new skills did you learn?
When Zoe has an idea she doesn't question it, if she's not quite there then she asks for help in fleshing it out or making it a reality but she gets it done, often the same day. Her attitude is always why not now and if it sells brilliant, if it doesn't then move on. Watching someone work so creatively almost without fear of failure made me realise how much I held back and how slow I've been with ideas because I've been too worried thinking about what happens if it doesn't sell. She also gives her products a shelf life of a month, if they don't sell in that time she changes the design and relists them, a product only works if it's making you money.
09/ Was it what you expected it to be like?
I wasn't really sure what to expect, I knew from their stories they were a fun bunch and I could see that they love what they do, so in that respect it was completely what I expected. What surprised me was how open and genuine they were right from the start and how they made my goals their goals. After the first day they asked me how many new followers I had and then from there it became a daily thing they were invested in, Zoe spent time showing me how to set up a website linked to my Etsy, talked to me about selling prints etc. and Abi gave me tips for stories and what works the most, It felt more like a mentorship at times & that was invaluable.
10/ What would you have changed?
Avoided Daves farts 😂
11/ Was the length of time right?
I think the beauty of two weeks is that it gives you enough time to get to know someone and see how they work without being too much in their hair, especially in a very small working environment. The downside is that just as you're getting into the flow you find yourself having to get ready to leave. I think in this instance it was great but yeah I could have happily done a bit longer.
12/ How has this experience helped you?
It's made me realise that I might hold myself back a lot more than I thought I did. I've never had a problem applying to competitions or messaging people, it's once I've got there or achieved something that I feel myself almost shrink or take a cautious step back instead of riding the wave. Working with Zoe and Abi was like opening a can of whoopass or being made to do shots of Lizzo. Teaching Abi things on photoshop & producing amazing work with Zoe (not at all bias) has really highlighted my skill set to me & emphasised that I know in my gut I'm making the right choices.
13/ Would you do it again?
Hated it, never again. Of course I would.
