Interview with INSTINCT founder Aaron
Anja: "What is your brand and what is it all about?”
Aaron: “So the brand is called Instinct and it is for the emerging artists. We started as a clothing brand since January, but we realised we’re for artists and decided to create a platform for them. Such as opportunities in galleries & runways. Now we're moving online to a more digital space. So we’re sort of helping artists get themselves out there.”
Anja: “How did this idea come about?”
Aaron: “It started in 2020 during covid. I was bored in my room and I always wanted to start a clothing brand. I was studying architecture and I considered starting one then, but figured I could only do one thing. I decided to put architecture at the front of it. But during covid there was a brand that put out a call for artists to design some clothes. I sent some designs, they never used them but I thought to myself this is pretty cool I like doing this. And it started it all there. Since I started in 2020, there have been a number of people involved in the brand, two of them you might have met, Ateeb & Gabi and there are more. The brand is not where it is or the projection I see without those people. Together we reach new ideas with differing perspectives whilst consistently keeping our values at the centre of all we do.”
Anja: “Where did the name come from?”
Aaron: “That was one of the harder parts to be honest. Figuring out a name and a logo. The name was Unrivalled Instinct at the beginning, but it sounded abit cheesy so I took the unrivalled off. With the logo as well I was playing around with the fonts and scribbles then I realised the brands not always about the logo it’s about the core values you put out there. I did standard bold font so people see the name and they see the values to it.”
Anja: “I like the name a lot, it definitely attracted me. The name is literally saying to follow your Instincts it’s pretty cool!”
Aaron: “Haha thanks that’s what it was at the beginning the tagline was; Follow your creative Instinct.”
Anja: “What is your ideal vision for the future of your brand but also the future of creatives and people like ourselves as the whole.”
Aaron: “I imagine the future of instinct almost like the model of gym shark. When I think of gym shark I don’t think of the clothing brand I think of the fitness, looking after yourself. They do events and meet ups. I like that side of it but for artists. Where we would differ is I like the roots we have and the foundations we are building. That intimate connection. The way we do it is we keep our core values and the people in the team always ground the idea. And from there we build these better ideas and events. Keeping everything for artists. One way we could scale it is put on more galleries but make it really affordable for artists, Galleries at the moment take about 50% commission which is a lot. We want to find a model that makes it easier for artists and not them giving half their work away. We seek out and want to engage with artists and we want to give them the support they need. Once they don’t need us anymore that’s great we don’t want to keep artists under our wing forever because they’re bigger than that.”
Anja: “I remember saying to you before you’re kind of a record label for artists with no strings attached. We’re both benefiting and helping each other in the long run”
Aaron: “Exactly. What makes me happy is working with people I want to work with. I don’t want to exploit them. Just give them tools and provide value.”
Anja: “It defiantly does feel like it installs confidence in you. As an Artist it can be really hard to find it in yourself to keep going. Especially because art is kind of seen as the underbelly of society and it doesn’t sound like a “real” job anymore. But what you are doing, that gave me faith. You meet people too! It’s kind of creating it’s own community and culture.”
Aaron: “Yes. When I spoke to you a few weeks ago and to other artists too. The underlying factor is confidence and branding. One thing we’re really working on is providing a platform to stop the “confidence deficit spiral”. If you have an artist, they post on their socials and because your followers are friends & family members, they may not resonate with it the way you want. So you get no feedback and then that makes you think your work isn’t good, it’s reinforcing your thoughts that you’re not good enough. But in reality you are. Most artists I spoke too have said this.”
Anja: “You’ve mentioned earlier about your core values. Could you tell me what they are?”
Aaron: There’s a few of them that we’re still grounding and refining in. But the essence of it is we want to be authentic. We don’t want to follow people. When we first started I had in mind other brands that are around and I started to sort of tailor to be like them and I realised I wasn’t happy doing it. This is not an easy realisation to reach, it took Gabi to reach out to me and suggested we are different to what initially inspired the creation of INSTINCT. I didn’t want to be a copy cat. So we have our runway, designs, collaborating with other people. We believe we don’t want to be competition with anyone. We can work with people. Working with Real Ideas, partnering up with MINSKI. We could've came into Plymouth seeing others at competition but what’s the point?”
Anja: “It’s so refreshing to hear because i’ve seen art groups be very cliquey & become very controlling on what they want to see. So you saying this it installs a lot of hope in me.”
Aaron: “I don’t see that because art is subjective. As long as your passionate and love it, we will provide you a platform. For example at the fashion show/runway we had established and emerging brands and students. Their is no hierarchy over anyone else. People shouldn’t have to suffer because they don’t have the right connections or come from a certain background. As long as you’re a genuine person.”
Anja: “Last question, any advice for creatives with ideas who may be struggling with believing in their dreams?”
Aaron: “Just do it. Put it out there, if you struggle with confidence create a fake account and just put it out there. It’s a marathon not a sprint. You may not get feedback at the beginning. Be happy with what you’ve done and keep doing it. Speak as though you’ve already done it. It’s having a sort of unbreakable faith that you know what you’re doing is right. At the beginning we had a pop up shop and worked with 10 artists. Some artists turned it down. That’s okay. Make it so valuable for people that if they don’t want to do it it’s their loss. You need to believe in what your saying even if they don’t. Because your the one doing it. Surround yourself with like minded people. I know INSTINCT is what it is because of the team, they help support you, and that is the platform we are creating at the moment, a hub for emerging artists.”
In conclusion:
Talking to Aaron was a really enlightening experience. As an artist myself it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. Someone is out there working everyday to support us. His brand instinct is revolutionary and I truly believe we are only just seeing the start. The fact that he has ideas in so many different areas. From catwalks, art, poetry, to architectural events. This is all the signs of a true visionary. His mission to help creatives and to lift people up with no competition or hierarchy is extremely refreshing to see and hear. I’m eager to see what the future holds for this expansive and creative brand.
