Meet Saskia Martindale | Set Designer & Art Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Saskia Martindale, all the way from London, and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Saskia, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I first started working I made sure I was always available – feeling grateful to be asked and not minding not having a life. There is some level of expectation within the industry that to get anywhere you work hard and to work hard you don’t have time off. Once I’d done a few years of that it became so much more apparent that in order to make the best stuff you NEED time out so my work life balance has become way more even. There’s still busy periods of course but I make myself take time off, give myself evenings and weekends and try to not become a slave to working.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a Set Designer and Art Director based in London, working between Fashion, Advertising and Still Life. More recently I’ve designed a couple of store windows which has been a really exciting path and hopefully will lead into more installation based pieces. Most of my work comes across quite bold and bright – I love playing with texture and colour, often making my own props.
I go between making, designing, sourcing and buying which gives me a good mix of interesting projects to be working on simultaneously.

When I graduated University (Illustration) I went straight in and assisted various other people which then gave me the experience and knowledge to have a go at doing it myself. The projects came in at random but once I had a few jobs under my belt more seemed to come my way.
I work for myself so no, I wouldn’t say it came easy as there’s so many things that come with being freelance… but I do mostly love it. There’s way more freedom and I love being able to work around other things I have going on (like holidays ha!)

I definitely feel like I am still just at the beginning of my career but it’s interesting figuring out, job by job, how best I work – which people I like to surround myself with, what type of jobs I prefer, where and when I am most productive.

I guess I’d like the world to know my work rather than about me myself. I’d love people to see something and know it was done by me – or for people to have really positive experiences from the things I create.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m currently in South London so first up I’d load up a bag with loads of food from the deli nearby then we’d bike out to a park where you can swim in the lake. There are loads of cycle paths around here so on our way back maybe we’d follow those and end up around Bermondsey Street and eat somewhere like Jose Pizarro! Another day we could walk along the river, have a drink at the Angel or the Mayflower… either east towards Greenwich Park or west towards Battersea Park.
Some other favourite food spots would be Mr. Bao, La Chingada, Angelina Dalston, Good Friend, Akira & Peckham Bazaar.
We’d basically eat our way round I think!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents! Always supportive of the next steps, always believing I could do whatever I wanted to do and giving me space to do that.
Growing up they always worked from home and for themselves so I really had no concept of having a ‘normal job.

Website: https://saskiamartindale.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saskiamartindale/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saskia-martindale-5b0446b1/