DR.ME is the collaborative design practice of Ryan Doyle (DR) and Mark Edwards (ME). They`re based in Manchester, U.K.
TWS –How are you doing in this Covid-19 pandemic?
DM –Yeah, fine, we’re in a majorly privileged position where we can just step back and all we’re
being asked to do is not put ourselves in unnecessary situations, I can’t even imagine how hard
it must be for everyone in a front line position.
TWS –Are you being able to telecommute / work from home?
DM –We actually work predominantly via the online platform slack as Ryan has a home studio so his setup hasn’t
changed so much. When this all started I moved my setup home which has been fine although I have a new ginger
kitten called Julian who doesn’t appreciate how delicate fine pieces of paper are that are on my cutting mat!
TWS –Did the lock-down affect your creativity and art making? How?
DM –It’s a little challenging at times as at the studio I have a large library of reference and research materials and
books so have to be resourceful in that respect. There are also shared facilities like a riso printer and other regular
printers that I’d use to create various effects and techniques so I’ve bought a printer for my home studio now.
Creativity-wise I do miss being in a shared space, I live in a lovely house but the studio I’m in has really high ceilings
and double height windows so the light is insane and there’s always someone there to chat about and idea to,
I definitely miss working there but for the time being I’m more than happy making work from home and the commute is a lot easier!
TWS –Are you able to track positive moments or things that happened during this crisis so far?
DM –Before this all got going we started up an instagram account to catalogue moments of accidental collage that
we and others see around the world (@accidentalcollage), this has been quite interesting to track accidental
moments of beauty, especially when out on the days exercise and cycling past billboards that are being changed
over! One really positive thing has been a friend of ours (Caroline Dowsett) asking Manchester based creatives
for artwork for an an art raffle which has so far raised over £5,000 in a week!
TWS –What’s the first thing you would like to do when we can get back to normal?
ME –See my friends and go to the pub haha! I really miss seeing my friends in real life, it sounds like a really obvious
thing to say but the simple pleasure of sharing a drink with a group of pals is a precious thing. Oh, and football.
