Lin Tao

5 June – 15 August 2008
Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden

/>Before I came here I’ve already seen some of the works from artlebedev, mostly product designs. So it’s no wonder that I got thrilled when Timur asked me if I’ll do an intern here.

The first day I got into the studio, I was amazed, like any other interns, what a great place it is. It’s a melting pot of creativity. Despite the huge collection of industrial and cultural “antiques”, and a mini but growing library, the great intranet is for sure a distinctive feature of artlebedev. The “Brain”, which is a “idea library”, fuses the ideas of everyone in the studio, and keeps sparkling new ones. I must admit that the homework for every weekend is a bit of a burden sometimes, but it keeps my mind “in shape”.

Of course the project cannot always be exciting, but it’s not hard to get stimulated, with so many ideas in the “Brain”, and such energetic people around you. The rich combination of internal and client projects is especially good for keeping you from boredom. The ping pong and mini football are quite popular games in the studio. It’s a bit embarrassing that they are probably the only sports I do here.

The working hour in Art. Lebedev Studio is anything but “normal”. You usually get into office around noon, and work till 9:00 pm. Of course there’s crazy people, like Timur, who arrives at 7:30 and leaves at 11:00 pm. Since the studio is 24 hours open, you can even stay here overnight. There’s pros and cons of course. You don’t have to be in the rush hour metro, for example (which is very nice.)

People here are very kind. I can’t imagine how I can survive without the help from them. From translating the lunch menu to looking for flat, they have offered so much help.

I can go on and on but I’d rather keep it concise. This is a very distinctive studio, and I feel content to be able to work here for 8 weeks. If you want to “smell the creativity”, come here.

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