We’re proud to support young people starting their creative careers, and we regularly welcome work experience students into Fanattik HQ. It’s a chance for them to see how a pop culture brand works day‑to‑day and to get involved in real projects alongside the team.
The post below was written by one of our recent students, sharing their experience from the week.
Before starting my work experience at Fanattik, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was nervous going through the door on day one, but the whole team were so welcoming, and I’ve just had a fantastic week.
The company was really organised and had already planned a busy itinerary with different tasks for me to do each day. I had the chance to meet and work with a variety of team members in different jobs – there was never time to be bored! That was one of my main reasons for approaching Fanattik to do my work experience as there’s so many different areas in one company – creative design team, sales and marketing are just a few. Because I’m only 15, I’m not sure yet what my next steps will be and what I’d like to do in the future, so this week was a great opportunity to experience a whole range of different jobs.
Day One – Turtles and Tips
On my first day I met with Greta and given a tour of the office and warehouse as well as an introduction to what the company was about. Fanattik specialise in creating licensed gifts and collectibles for pop culture retailers all around the world. If you love TV, film and video games, then Fanattik is the place to be! My first task was packaging up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coins ready for distribution.
Later in the day, I was really lucky as Anthony, the CEO and Co-Founder of Fanattik gave up some of his time to talk to me about how he set up the company, as well as passing on some useful tips for the business world – take risks, start young and get it in writing!
Day Two – Displays, Sales Leads and Sonic the Hedgehog
I had a great start to my second day working with Agathy, who is part of the Product Development & Design Team. We spent the morning in the display room which showcases Fanattik's latest design ranges – this month includes Masters of the Universe and Jurassic Park. We moved and rearranged the older stock to make space for the new products. I really enjoyed creating the display.
In the afternoon I worked with Louise who explained about her job as a designer then set me an interesting task to assist her with her new project on Sonic the Hedgehog. I researched key facts about Sonic and created a PowerPoint presentation with my results to help her product design.
Next it was time to meet Alan to find out about the sales and marketing side of the business. I helped to research potential clients and sales leads and input this information into spreadsheets.
Day Three – Market Research, Dragons and Designing
I stayed with the Design team for my third day, this time working with Suzanne, a graphic designer and illustrator, who explained more of the creative process and how products are designed and made. I had chance to do market research and put together a powerpoint of my findings all about How to Train Your Dragon products.
In the afternoon I continued my project with Suzanne by browsing on the Universal website for cool patterns and designs. I could then use these to have a go at some of my own designs using apps such as Vectr, Pixel and Photoshop. I loved using my creativity and it gave me a small insight into the actual process of design and bringing the product to life.
Day Four – Getting the Perfect Photo
On my penultimate day I talked with Melissa, who is Fanattik's Creative Director, about her role in the business. She also showed me the process of how a design is approved and produced. Then it was time to join Anna who is a Multimedia Designer and help with some product photography. I had a brilliant time watching the process from the first photo being taken after the set up was done in the light box all the way to the final image which had been transformed using editing tools to get the perfect photo. I definitely hadn’t appreciated the amount of time, effort and skill it took. I was surprised but also loved the whole creative process.
Last Day – Thank You for an Amazing Week!
My last day was a chance to get involved with content creation - finishing off my blog, taking photos and interviewing some team members as well as working more on my favourite tasks from the week.
The week has totally whizzed by and I’ve loved it all! Thank you to everyone who at Team Fanattik for making me so welcome and giving up your time to give me an insight into the world of creating pop culture collectibles – it’s a brilliant place to be!
