Who we are

There’s something so humbling about the process of making films and taking photographs.
So much work goes in right up until the moment that shutter
is clicked.

That’s when it’s magic. That moment, gone forever in reality but held still in this image alone. It can’t be repeated and it can’t be taken away. It’s been captured.

About us

Liz

In her life before marmalade, Liz worked as a creative producer in advertising agencies for ten years, for the likes of Iris, VCCP and Adam&Eve and brands like Cadbury, easyJet, Starbucks and Domino’s to name a few.

She managed projects and productions from brochures and brand campaigns to animations, OOH, social assets and TV commercials - and even once a live stream on Twitter of some rabbits in a miniature kitchen (long story). She is a problem-solver at heart, 60% optimist and 40% realist, and loves planning the nitty gritty of productions so they run smoother than a baby’s behind.

Matt

Matt is an art director, designer, and creative thinker, with a background in design and a passion for photography since day dot.

From Barclays to Belvedere, Matt has been bringing brands to life with visual design for the last decade. Naturally inquisitive, he’s always searching for the right answer to the right question, all in order to get to the best creative result.

Matt’s natural affinity for photography and sharp creative eye allow him to to seamlessly art-direct on and off set. He works closely with our photographers and won’t stop until we get ‘the shot’. He also speaks fluent ‘photographer’, which helps.

How we made marmalade

We’ve never been the type to turn down a challenge. So when an incredible creative opportunity presented itself in 2019 that was too good to turn down, we both jumped ship from the world of freelancing and found ourselves down the rabbit hole of running our own business. Ten productions, months away on shoot and hours spent poring over selects later, we’ve never looked back. It’s the most rewarding thing we’ve ever done.

From day one we’ve prioritised honesty, simplicity and efficiency in everything we do, and we’ve found that these three things are the best starting point for true collaboration. Whoever we’re working with, we work with them as part of their team. And most importantly, we see the joy in every project - leaning into the opportunity to have fun at every corner, and using this optimism to fuel possibility.

How we like to work

  • We operate in small teams

    The core requirement for a project to be successful is a simple, agile team made of the right people to do a great job. Nothing more, nothing less. We start each project with just the two of us, only bringing in additional team members if and when they are needed. Small teams pave the way for quick decisions, great communication and smart ideas.

  • We create with kindness

    Kindness is free. It costs nothing, and we’re all capable of making it a non-negotiable in the way we work. We are people people, and over the years we’ve built good connections and relationships with talented people from all walks of life. We’re open, honest, we pay on time and treat people fairly. What goes around comes around, and we reckon this philosophy results in the best work.

  • We're not wasters

    We’ve both experienced first hand the amount of waste creative projects can produce - wasting time, money, resource, people, energy - so we try to be ruthlessly efficient in everything we do. And we’re constantly tweaking and refining our processes to enable us to be just that. Too often people mistake action for progress, but we like to keep it simple, consider our options and make smart decisions to move projects forward.

  • We're interested in our clients, not Cannes

    Unless you count swimming badges or karting trophies, neither of us have won an award in our lives. And we’re okay with that. It’s not a metric of success for us. We have no ulterior motive here, we’re not doing this work to put us on the map. We are much more interested in working with our clients to deliver work that we’re all proud of, and having a bloody great time whilst doing it.

  • We keep it real

    We believe the best creative work comes from big ideas working alongside an awareness of reality; creative and production working hand in hand and pushing each other throughout the whole process. Keeping our ideas grounded in reality with a holistic awareness of the job at hand means we never lose sight of the outcome and are able to produce work that works really hard for our clients.

  • We compromise in the right places

    There’s no point being cheap if the final product isn’t up to scratch. There’s no point creating an incredible product that costs the earth and you resent because it wasn’t worth it, in the end. Quality and value are equally important, and we are focussed on creating the best work we possibly can and making compromises in the right places to bring value to every project.

Testimonials

Don’t take our word for it

“Through the proposal process marmalade provided ideas to help us realise our vision, delivering the high standards set by a big creative agency at a fraction of the budget. 

Our first shoot with them couldn’t have gone better; extremely well organised, art directed to perfection, all delivered on time, on budget and with the friendliest, most relaxed atmosphere to the whole process.

10 incredible shoots later and they are still absolutely my go to team, who we can trust with always knowing the brand and being as cost efficient and practical as possible in the process.”

Pippa Woodstock - Brand Marketing Manager, Haven Holidays

“….delivering the
high standards set
by a big creative agency at a fraction of the budget.”

Let’s work together.

It’s a privilege to work on amazing creative projects, and what better way to do it with likeminded people. So if you’ve made it this far, and our background and values resonate with you, we’d love to work with you too.

Get in touch and let’s create something together.