Interview: Ben Steers

Ben Steers is the co-founder of creative design studio Fiasco Design, as well as Thread, a not-for-profit creative events organisation. Together with business partner Jason Smith, this year he has been working on Something Good, the first design festival of its kind in Bristol, taking place over October 6- 7 2017. Friday will feature a number of influential talks from a mixture of selected creatives, followed by an after party. Saturday brings the opportunity to attend a variety of inspiring workshops around Bristol. 

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background.
I grew up in London, and after graduating from Plymouth in 2008 with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Communication I moved to Bristol. I had a friend there who I used to visit while I was at Plymouth, and loved Bristol in terms of the art and culture. It seemed like a good mid-point between Plymouth and London, so I thought I’d give it a few years and see how it went. In October I’ll have been here for nine years.

How did you get started in the creative industries?
A year after living in Bristol I set up Fiasco Design with my business partner Jason Smith. It was centred on creative studio branding and website design. We grew a team and a couple of years ago started looking at events and Community Interest Companies like West of England Design Forum. We noticed that there was a lot of emphasis on the lecture side of things – which isn’t a bad thing – but it helped us realise that what we wanted was a more comfortable, laid back environment for creatives to meet one another and have a good time. So, Thread was born.

What made you decide to set up Thread – and Something Good – in Bristol, rather than a bigger city like London?
We weren’t looking to jump on the back of something like Glug, although we do think what they do is great. We wanted something that was for Bristol and reflected the culture and DNA of the city. Thread is very diverse – it’s not focused solely on graphic design, illustration or animation, and we have a real breadth of speakers. It’s laid back and comfortable, which fits with the general vibe of Bristol.

Without sounding too Phil Collins, you can kind of feel that underlying essence in Bristol and the people you talk to. There’s not loads of ego and one-upmanship like you might find in bigger cities like London. There might be room to later expand Thread, or possibly franchise it, but ultimately it’s a Community Interest Company. We’re not-for-profit and we’re not looking to steamroll competition. It’s all done with good intentions and our mission is really to meet some cool people and put them in contact with the design community.

So, how did you come up with the idea for Something Good?
I noticed that, weirdly, in a city full of festivals, there was nothing in that area that existed solely in the creative arts and design community. It was the same sort of thing as with Thread – I kept thinking that surely someone was going to come along and do the idea. But we waited and no one did, so we decided to start it. We wanted to start with a fairly manageable size: we wanted it to feel more personable.

Is there an aspect that you’re most looking forward to, or a designer that you’re particularly excited to hear speaking?
Honestly, I’m just really looking forward to it all kicking off. There’s been so much work and so much to do over the last few months. It’ll be great to see all of it come together and hopefully people will just really enjoy it. As far as the creative speakers go, I think they’re all going to be great – we picked them! I do think that Trapped in Suburbia will surprise people and that they’ll like it. Snask also have something extra planned for the finale, which should give everyone a (pleasant) shock.

Are you hoping to run Something Good again next year?
We’ve put in a ridiculous amount of work over the last eight or nine months to get this point, so we want to follow through with it. We’re looking to take what we learn from this year and build on it for next year; talk to people, find what’s good and what’s not so good. We very much feel this is a community event and we want the community involved in the ongoing strategy of Something Good. It’s not about us sitting in a room coming up with ideas: we want a two way conversation.

Something Good design festival takes place across Bristol on October 6 & 7. To find out more or book tickets for events, visit www.somethinggoodbristol.com.