Meet: Ana De Pellegrin

Ana de Pellegrin loves to make things. It’s what led her to study BA (Hons) Product Design (now BA (Hons) Product and Industrial Design) at Central Saint Martins and it’s what drives her when choosing projects and roles since graduating in 2019.

This love of making things, along with Ana's understanding of the struggles that creatives can face with finding affordable studio space, which led her to developing a new social enterprise in South London. Blue Garage offers affordable studio spaces and workshops kitted out with the best tools and equipment for inventors, designers, and makers in South East London.

Ana spoke to us about her time at CSM, and the rewarding nature of growing something from the ground upwards.

You completed both your BA (Hons) Product Design at Central Saint Martins in 2019, having previously done the Art & Design Foundation year there too. What was a highlight of your time at the College?

It was the multidisciplinary nature of studying at CSM and getting to know people from other courses and other countries!

Why did you choose to study Product Design, and what did you enjoy most about the course? 

I wanted to be able to turn ideas into reality. Product Design was a course where, no matter what your intended outcome, you could learn a process that would be effective in turning an initial concept into a real output.

The workshops were something I really enjoyed. Learning to use all the equipment and machinery. Nowadays, it’s rare to make things yourself, now we can buy everything, we can order online. I think making is a forgotten gem and a very rewarding feeling.

It’s a bit like what we’re doing at Blue Garage, offering a space to help people develop their ideas and make things.

Can you tell us a bit about what you did after you graduated?

To be honest it wasn’t easy to get my foot in the design world and since I’m from Argentina, I have been going back and forth between the 2 countries for the past few years. My first job as a product designer was at a startup, and then covid hit which sent me back home for a while.

After that I came back to London and worked in a few different places and roles. I did healthcare product development at KwickScreen, the company now sponsoring Blue Garage. I’m also very involved in football, mainly women’s and girls’ teams, and I was doing  communications and marketing for a football NGO called Girls United. After that, whilst back in Argentina, I developed a new enterprise doing art prints.

I’m now back in London again with this amazing opportunity to develop Blue Garage, a co-working space with access to fully equipped workshops.

What inspires you?

I'd say making things, even if it’s not a physical product. Making things and developing new projects that I feel inspired by keeps me interested and involved. I’m mainly interested in projects that bring a positive social impact and not just a profitable company.

You’ve recently opened Blue Garage, a social enterprise of studio spaces with workshops in South London. How did this come about?

I came back to England and was looking for a job, when a past employer told me about a project they were developing and needed someone to lead it.

I’m a maker and I’m also driven to help other people; I try to work on projects that have a positive social impact, and this sounded like the right combination.

We are working with the local council and although it is a co-work where people come and rent spaces, we have incorporated the mission to provide the wider community with advice, help and resources to learn how to make and to turn ideas into reality.

What’s been the most rewarding thing about opening Blue Garage?

Seeing things grow from the ground up. Sometimes it’s hard to see the impact of what we do, but the project has moved at quite a fast pace and having already done a launch event, seeing the people come together and now starting to fill up the available spaces has been incredible.

How can people get involved with Blue Garage?

There are a few ways of getting involved; we are looking for prospective tenants that need a space to move into that isn’t just a co-work but also has amazing workshops facilities to develop products and ideas and create a community of makers.

You can learn more about us on our website bluegarage.org, we're also on Instagram @bluegarageorg or on LinkedIn Blue Garage.

Find out more about studying at Central Saint Martins

• BA (Hons) Product and Industrial Design
• UAL Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
• Central Saint Martins