EXCLUSIVE! Upstarts Exhibition Scoop

With the serious business of planning the Upstarts exhibition underway, this morning Officeless exclusively reveals a proposal being secretly planned by one member of the group, who shall remain nameless. With heavy-duty celebrity backing this pitch is sure to shake the windows and rattle the walls of the Factory Space Gallery Upstarts Exhibition Consideration Panel (FSGUECP). Watch this space!


A collection of signs found discarded outside Filmbase have been salvaged and will be hung liberally around the venue, adding a real boxing 'feel' to the place.


Nineteen 'Slam Man' (or should that be 'Slam Men'?) are to be purchased for the gallery floor and positioned in front of each Upstarts' work. Visitors can then extract pre-recorded information about said work by moderately-to-heavily-pummelling said Slam Man. Apart from imparting helpful facts to guests, will also fulfil a fantasy for many of physically beating an idea out of somebody else. May stretch ICAD budget for show somewhat, but something will just have to be arranged: you cannot put a price on quality.
SM- "This project..... uffgh.... presented me with a number of.... aaaagh.... challenging.... ooaggh.... things-to-think-about." *


High-profile guests on the launch night include John Kelly from RTE's The View and Olympic bronze medalist Paddy Barnes.
JK- "Here is another interesting approach..." *
PB- "They can keep it but!" *


TV3's The Apprentice Boss Man Bill Cullen is also right behind this proposal: "It's fiesty, it's got heart, it's got energy. It reminds me of when I sold apples on Moore St... etc etc etc."*

* Quotes made up. No harm is meant to the reputations of Bill Cullen, John Kelly, Paddy Barnes or Slam Man in the publishing of this article.

Rotterdam views, pt 2

Rotterdam views, pt 1

Team Ireland, EuroSkills 2008

Congratulations to all of the Irish competitors who took part in EuroSkills 2008. The experience of competing for your country on an international stage is one that never leaves you. It has a huge impact on you as a person; it changes the way you go about your work for the rest of your life. The group who travelled to Holland make history, going down as the Irish team that contested the first ever EuroSkills event. Many members of this team will go on to compete again at the 40th WorldSkills competition, to be held in Calgary, Canada in the autumn of 2009. Their experience in the Netherlands will stand them in great stead for a second crack, this time against young apprentices from every corner of the globe.

The Irish team returned from Rotterdam with a fair share of medals:
Light Vehicles Technician: Gold medal - Colm Corcoran
Plastering: Silver - Denis Lucey
Joinery: Silver - Jason Finn
Farrier (team): Silver - Paul O'Reilly and Ruairi Brennan
Farrier: Bronze - Paul O'Reilly
Plumbing: Bronze - Stephen Brady

EuroSkills scenes, pt 2

EuroSkills scenes, pt 1

Some photographs I took at the event:

Never, Netherlands pt 2

I have a few bits and pieces left to put up regarding last week's trip to Holland, before they slip from memory altogether. The EuroSkills competition held in Rotterdam on the 18th,19th and 20th September was the reason I went over. I know this is not exactly up-to-the-minute, but it's been a busy week. Remember, stay tuned to the Officeless Blogcast for more of my on-the-button reports.


If you are visiting Amsterdam, take a trip down the line to see the Netherlands' second city. Only an hour away by train, it is a journey that will set you back the grand sum of €13.70. On arrival at Rotterdam Centraal, "get on yer bike". Take a right out of the station towards the Groothandelsgebouw, the massive office block right in front of you. Round the corner are two half-open giant black gates and a road climbing steeply into the bowels of the building. Go up; there's a bike rental office on the first level, €8 for the day with a €50 deposit. Unlike a lot of other places, they stay open til midnight for the bike's return. It's worth taking one out from there for the death-defying hurtle back to street level alone.


The EuroSkills competition was held at Ahoy, a large venue on the south side of the city. It took about 30mins to get out to the site on my newly-acquired bike from Centraal station. Getting to cross the mighty Erasmusbrug was the best of all. Out in the middle you can feel the bridge rumble and wobble as cars, lorries and buses pound alongside.

Dutch TV ad for EuroSkills competition:

Upstarts, round 5, 6, and 6.5

Ever wondered what the building with the big '100' painted in its window at the top of Capel St is? Well, it is the office and studio of Design Factory. They are not advertising a front room to rent for €100 a week. They are not celebrating their 100th anniversary. And they are not bragging of a 100% success rate in matters graphic design. No, the answer is far less intriguing. '100' is the address of the studio: 100 Capel St. Oh.


But it wasn't for the discussion of window decor or exterior facades that the Upstarts group were summoned to the premises on Friday afternoon. The matter at hand was much deeper than that; quite literally so. The basement of the building, and its imminent opening as the new 'Factory Space Gallery' was the topic of the day. Throw into the mix the forthcoming Upstarts exhibition, November's Dublin Design Week, and the turn of Design Factory to hand us a brief... can you see where this is going?


Our final project is to create a package for the 2008 Upstarts Exhibition which will be on show at Factory Space as part Design Week (3rd-9th November). The exhibition will showcase the work from this year's Design and Advertising Upstarts programmes. We have been asked to devise an identity for the event: a name, a logo, an overall theme/concept and its application in both gallery layout and promotion of the event. Lots to think about, and very exciting.




Friday was our first opportunity to have a look at the building, the space available and the floor plans. We meet at the gallery again on Monday week; hopefully we will regroup with lots of interesting ideas from which we can build and make this year's Upstarts show the best ever.