During a tropical holiday in Malaysia, friends Andrew Slane, Asher Walker and Tim Slane had a few too many Malibu pineapples and decided to all leave their jobs and start a business together. “We all went to Dilworth School together and have been in each other's pockets ever since,” Tim said.
Before Blink Boys, Andrew had worked at a print company; Asher was in advertising and Tim was in signage and print. Their new roles are blurred and frequently cross over into most areas of their business.
Blink Boys opened in January 2015 in a small corner office in Ponsonby, but soon after plucked up the courage to go bigger and moved into the “Blink Factory” which is tucked away on Exmouth Street in Auckland. The space was formerly a dance studio; the boys felt they had lucked out with the polished wooden floors and high ceilings. Andrew put the name Blink out right at the beginning, and they all felt it was right. After a few clients and friends starting referring to them as the Blink Boys, they just went with it.
Their first big job was for Festival One, where they looked after all of their social media, signage and printing.
Asher grew up in West Auckland and studied Communications at AUT after living overseas. An avid collector of records, Asher also enjoys a good novel and spends most of his evenings finding new places to eat. Brothers Andrew and Tim grew up in Greenlane, Tim is a passionate op-shopper and is always first in the office to find new music. Andrew studied Business at Auckland University and is spends his extra time in the ocean sailing or participating in other water activities.
The key skill required to work at Blink is flexibility. Working on a broad range of projects no two days are the same. From brand architecture and strategy to signage design, print management and installation there is a lot of crossover of areas, and everyone is required to put in effort where needed. Blink Boys focus on creating value through a range of digital and physical solutions. They are fortunate to have a great set of clients and be able to work on some fun briefs. From creative strategy, content creation and execution, photography, copywriting, through to graphic design, they do it all. On the physical side, they focus on signage, print and custom projects and events that involve parts of those industries.
The Blink Boys have invested in a laser cutter, so their future is very focused on that. The new equipment opens up a whole new range of projects that they can work on and also complements everything they already do. Next, they are looking to develop further into what they do, maintaining a small and dynamic team that work on transforming spaces from design to physical execution.
The trio is playing around with different merchandise ideas and products that they can make within their studio. “We make them for our friends, but depending on how things go one day we’d potentially look at selling items,” Tim said.
Now with a team of five, the boys felt lucky to have an awesome team and a network of experts that they can call on for bigger projects. “The ability to produce high-quality work in all areas of our business while keeping the process refreshing and fun. There’s a sense of satisfaction in being able to complete briefs from start to finish - creative, design and physical execution.
