{"id":17636,"date":"2021-09-24T11:52:55","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T09:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expressionumea.se\/?p=17636"},"modified":"2023-08-03T22:10:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T20:10:00","slug":"proto-proto-we-want-to-increase-peoples-creative-self-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expressionumea.se\/en\/proto-proto-vi-vill-oka-manniskors-kreativa-sjalvfortroende\/","title":{"rendered":"The Design Studio: \"We want to increase people's creative confidence\""},"content":{"rendered":"

Since its inception in 2015, Proto Proto has been on a development journey. Today, the company is both an international design studio and a platform where people learn to trust their creative abilities. Now the door to the future is ajar - if you ask founders Anna and Jeff Parry, it's bright.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After travelling around Southeast Asia for some time, Anna and Jeff Parry finally ended up in Sweden in 2015, where they met several artisans and designers who asked for help in reaching the Western market. This is where the business idea was born, which led to the launch of the company, now called Proto Proto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0In everything we do, we aim to increase people's creative confidence and belief in their own ability to create. We do this by getting more people to collaborate and create and design together. It's about people at all levels and in all parts of the world,\" says Anna Parry<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Today, the company has developed two branches under the same roof for which they are each responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's about making a profound difference and awakening the creativity and imagination that are the basis of our collective problem-solving capacity.<\/p>Anna Parry, Proto Projects<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jeff works with Proto Proto which is the original idea. Here they curate collaborations between artisans and designers carefully handpicked from all cultures of the world. Together they produce small collections of premium products that are sold and marketed through Proto Proto's channels. They also design their very own lines of jewelry and accessories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We saw that there was a need to help skilled craftsmen and designers from parts of the world that don't usually reach a wider market. We want to promote equality and at the same time spread really quality design that both inspires and stimulates creativity,\" says Jeff Parry<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jeff Parry on assignment in Kibera, one of several informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Proto Proto aims to connect skilled artisans and designers and together develop products that are marketed and sold worldwide. Photo Credit: Proto Proto<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Proto Projects: a natural evolution of the company<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anna has quite recently started Proto Projects which is the second part of the company. Through the branch Projects<\/em> they offer everything from large companies and organisations to schools and non-profit organisations the opportunity to learn to think with their hands, to prototype and to create. Anna says you don't have to be a designer or have attended a fancy<\/em> training to be creative and develop their problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Anna Parry lectures at Formex. Photo: Proto Proto<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Proto Projects became a natural evolution of the company as the demand for more knowledge and methods to boost and develop people's creative abilities grew. Now that society is starting to find a new normal, assignments continue to pour in. At Proto Projects, Anna's passion and skills really come into their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make big companies dare to play or to see how a student who usually sits at the back of the classroom lights up and gets involved, that's really important stuff. It's about being hands on, about building. In all the workshops we run, we build with our hands. It breaks hierarchies and changes so much, under the surface. It's about changing something at a deep level and bringing to life the creativity and imagination that is the basis of our collective problem-solving ability. Serious play, in other words. It creates change for real,\" says a passionate Anna<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n