NAME:
George Kirman & Tash O’Neill
JOB TITLE:
Co-Founders, Producers, Project Managers, All Round Chameleons
COMPANY:
EDNAEDNA
BIO:
Historically one half media specialist, one half stage producer, George & Tash came together over their love of all things experiential and are using their combined experience to build immersive, engaging activations for brands.
George: I’m a black coffee girl these days (although I risk being excommunicated from the rest of Yorkshire by admitting that!), but if it’s tea then it absolutely has to be Yorkshire Tea…anything else is unacceptable and I will judge you. Heavily.
Tash: Black coffee for me too. Much to George’s dismay, she discovered after we formed EDNAEDNA, that I hate tea…
George: I’m still not over it.
Tash: Best and worst...THE FEAR. It’s one of the biggest motivators at the beginning. Living in London isn’t cheap and you need to hustle really hard to make sure you can support yourself. But, as long as you don’t let it rule you, it keeps you sharp, it keeps you on top of your game. I also love the freedom. I’d always wanted to work for myself and it’s genuinely been everything I wanted it to be. I feel like I regularly have moments where I can’t believe we’re actually doing it!
George: I’m an extreme ‘planner’ (some say the most Virgo of Virgos), so the not always knowing and being able to accurately forecast has been a hugely terrifying learning curve for me, so I’d perhaps say that’s been the worst bit. That, or HMRC…anything remotely HMRC related.
The best bit for me has definitely been the education. I haven’t learnt so much in such a short space of time since school and it’s so refreshing as an adult to engage your brain in new ways, learn new skills and constantly challenge your own expectations of yourself.
George: That’s a tricky one because we’ve been really lucky to work on some bloody great projects for a start-up, many of which have been whitelabelled so we can’t share any info about them. Of the stuff we’re able the share, I still LOVE the 19 Crimes ‘The Cl(ink) activation we ran back in 2021; not only did it combine two of my own personal favourite things (tattoos and wine!), but it was a bit of a ‘breakthrough’ project for EDNAEDNA. We were able to fully take the reins; the clients entrusted us with complete creative production control which meant tailor-making some of the props ourselves to ensure they were perfect. There is nothing more satisfying than when a client trusts your vision and lets you run with it!
Tash: Yeah, anything with wine and tattoos is always going to be a winner in our books! My favourite sort of things to work on are the really creative, immersive briefs. I love getting into the details, creating something that fans will enjoy - like the James Bond install we did with all the vintage maps, or the immersive woods we created for Bewilderment. The Remy Martin Halloween install will forever be a fave too because I just want it to be October 31st 24/7.
Tash: Everywhere. Art, theatre, TV, books. I also feel like it’s really important to always put yourself in the place of the person experiencing the activation or event and think what would they want to see there, what would they want to feel; there’s a lot of inspiration to be found in thinking about that.
George: Much the same for me to be honest, although theatre has been a really unexpected source of inspiration for me because I never had much interest in musicals prior to having Tash in my life. But working with theatre agencies has meant we’ve been lucky enough to see loads of shows and I’m a full convert these days! Interior Design is a big one for me too; in another life I might have gone in to this field but now I use my passion for it to help EDNAEDNA design spaces for activations.
George: I’ve always felt torn between my left and right brain, being someone with creative flair that loves processes and order (I know…it’s a mess up there!), but EDNAEDNA allows me the opportunity to exercise both sides and I think that level of being totally engaged and always needing to be on my toes is what really drives me. There is also something to be said for knowing that you’re entirely in charge of generating your own income to stick a rocket up your arse, too!
Tash: I am less about the processes…but I love that we get to create fun, playful experiences for people and…that’s our JOB. It’s mad. I feel so lucky that I get to work in an industry that’s creative, constantly evolving, and full of variety. One day it’s a secret whiskey bar, the next it’s hunting down Georgian antiques. Never a dull moment.
George: We’ve got certain hopes and ambitions for EDNA, of course, but for the most part right now we’re just enjoying the journey and taking each new challenge as we come to it! We count our lucky stars every day that we have such amazing contacts - be that our very trusting clients, our incredible roster of freelancers or our carefully vetted suppliers - and it’s a combination of all of those people that enable EDNAEDNA to continue to grow!
Tash: Hear, hear! We’re – naturally – planning for world domination at some point but for now we’re just having the best time doing what we do and we’re eternally grateful for all of the support we’ve had so far.
And there we have it! Thanks to everyone that has participated in Brews & Q’s this year…we’re so grateful for your time and your wisdom! We’ll be back with more in the New Year but for now we have a Baileys in hand, a bowl of Quality Street by our side and our Xmas PJ’s on in front of the TV (which obviously has Home Alone, The Holiday and Love Actually on repeat from now until January).
Merry Christmas everybody! x
NAME:
George Kirman & Tash O’Neill
JOB TITLE:
Co-Founders, Producers, Project Managers, All Round Chameleons
COMPANY:
EDNAEDNA
BIO:
Historically one half media specialist, one half stage producer, George & Tash came together over their love of all things experiential and are using their combined experience to build immersive, engaging activations for brands.
George: I’m a black coffee girl these days (although I risk being excommunicated from the rest of Yorkshire by admitting that!), but if it’s tea then it absolutely has to be Yorkshire Tea…anything else is unacceptable and I will judge you. Heavily.
Tash: Black coffee for me too. Much to George’s dismay, she discovered after we formed EDNAEDNA, that I hate tea…
George: I’m still not over it.
Tash: Best and worst...THE FEAR. It’s one of the biggest motivators at the beginning. Living in London isn’t cheap and you need to hustle really hard to make sure you can support yourself. But, as long as you don’t let it rule you, it keeps you sharp, it keeps you on top of your game. I also love the freedom. I’d always wanted to work for myself and it’s genuinely been everything I wanted it to be. I feel like I regularly have moments where I can’t believe we’re actually doing it!
George: I’m an extreme ‘planner’ (some say the most Virgo of Virgos), so the not always knowing and being able to accurately forecast has been a hugely terrifying learning curve for me, so I’d perhaps say that’s been the worst bit. That, or HMRC…anything remotely HMRC related.
The best bit for me has definitely been the education. I haven’t learnt so much in such a short space of time since school and it’s so refreshing as an adult to engage your brain in new ways, learn new skills and constantly challenge your own expectations of yourself.
George: That’s a tricky one because we’ve been really lucky to work on some bloody great projects for a start-up, many of which have been whitelabelled so we can’t share any info about them. Of the stuff we’re able the share, I still LOVE the 19 Crimes ‘The Cl(ink) activation we ran back in 2021; not only did it combine two of my own personal favourite things (tattoos and wine!), but it was a bit of a ‘breakthrough’ project for EDNAEDNA. We were able to fully take the reins; the clients entrusted us with complete creative production control which meant tailor-making some of the props ourselves to ensure they were perfect. There is nothing more satisfying than when a client trusts your vision and lets you run with it!
Tash: Yeah, anything with wine and tattoos is always going to be a winner in our books! My favourite sort of things to work on are the really creative, immersive briefs. I love getting into the details, creating something that fans will enjoy - like the James Bond install we did with all the vintage maps, or the immersive woods we created for Bewilderment. The Remy Martin Halloween install will forever be a fave too because I just want it to be October 31st 24/7.
Tash: Everywhere. Art, theatre, TV, books. I also feel like it’s really important to always put yourself in the place of the person experiencing the activation or event and think what would they want to see there, what would they want to feel; there’s a lot of inspiration to be found in thinking about that.
George: Much the same for me to be honest, although theatre has been a really unexpected source of inspiration for me because I never had much interest in musicals prior to having Tash in my life. But working with theatre agencies has meant we’ve been lucky enough to see loads of shows and I’m a full convert these days! Interior Design is a big one for me too; in another life I might have gone in to this field but now I use my passion for it to help EDNAEDNA design spaces for activations.
George: I’ve always felt torn between my left and right brain, being someone with creative flair that loves processes and order (I know…it’s a mess up there!), but EDNAEDNA allows me the opportunity to exercise both sides and I think that level of being totally engaged and always needing to be on my toes is what really drives me. There is also something to be said for knowing that you’re entirely in charge of generating your own income to stick a rocket up your arse, too!
Tash: I am less about the processes…but I love that we get to create fun, playful experiences for people and…that’s our JOB. It’s mad. I feel so lucky that I get to work in an industry that’s creative, constantly evolving, and full of variety. One day it’s a secret whiskey bar, the next it’s hunting down Georgian antiques. Never a dull moment.
George: We’ve got certain hopes and ambitions for EDNA, of course, but for the most part right now we’re just enjoying the journey and taking each new challenge as we come to it! We count our lucky stars every day that we have such amazing contacts - be that our very trusting clients, our incredible roster of freelancers or our carefully vetted suppliers - and it’s a combination of all of those people that enable EDNAEDNA to continue to grow!
Tash: Hear, hear! We’re – naturally – planning for world domination at some point but for now we’re just having the best time doing what we do and we’re eternally grateful for all of the support we’ve had so far.
And there we have it! Thanks to everyone that has participated in Brews & Q’s this year…we’re so grateful for your time and your wisdom! We’ll be back with more in the New Year but for now we have a Baileys in hand, a bowl of Quality Street by our side and our Xmas PJ’s on in front of the TV (which obviously has Home Alone, The Holiday and Love Actually on repeat from now until January).
Merry Christmas everybody! x
