H&M and Ikea have launched a pilot programme called Atelier100 that aims to mentor and showcase the work of London-based creatives and designers.
Atelier100 opened its doors in Livat Hammersmith, a recently-opened shopping complex owned by Ikea’s parent company, Ingka Group.
The project is a collaboration between the two Nordic giants that hopes to create a “more sustainable and ‘hyperlocal’ approach to high street retail”.
In April, Atelier100 put out an open call for creatives, makers and manufacturers who live within 100km of central London to share their product ideas.
The successful applicants, which include colour-changing jewellery makers Gum LdN, interior designer Andu Masebo, and ceramic artist Alison Cooke, will receive up to £10,000 of funding.
Through the programme, they will also receive mentorship from key industry figures such as Marcus Engman, chief creative officer at Ingka Group and Camilla Henriksson, global brand innovation manager at H&M.
The space inhabited by Atelier100 inside Livat Hammersmith uses repurposed and recycled materials from the former Topshop flagship store on Oxford Street. It hopes to become a hub for programme mentors to carry out workshops or one-on-one sessions with the applicants, as well as for members of the public to view and eventually shop their products.
“The desire is for creatives to inspire each other, grow their businesses through mentorship from industry leaders and create innovative, sustainable products which will then go on sale at the new Atelier100 space in Livat Hammersmith from autumn 2022,” both companies said in a joint statement.
Henriksson told The Independent: “There are no hard and fast criteria for applicants, we welcomed creatives in music, art, food, beauty and wellness areas when we put out the open call in April.
“If you have a strong idea but you don’t really have a ready product, you can still present it to us and if we really see potential in that idea we will bring it into the programme.”
She added that although the window to apply for the programme was just one and a half weeks, it received more than 400 applications.
Henriksson added that there is no deadline for the creatives to finish the programme by, and the idea is to “understand and see where they are in their journey and what they need”.
“We can then start to set them up with connectionsd to different kinds of mentors – whether they want to learn about sustainability or scaleability or they need help with finding manufacturers and producers,” she said.
In future, the corporations hope to widen the scope for applications and launch Atelier100 in other cities around the UK and Europe.
