How long have you been going?
Atomic Smash officially started in October 2010 but David Darke and Piers Tincknell started working together much earlier on the Digital Art and Technology course at Plymouth University. Atomic Smash was born out of a university friendship and mutual appreciation of the digital world.
Why did you decide to set this business up?
We are both from families where starting up your own business is the done thing, some people see it as a giant leap but for us it was a natural progression. Our biggest question was not really why to set up the business but where to do it. Graduating from Plymouth University it would’ve been tempting to stay in the area and stick to what you know, however we knew that Bristol was getting more and more recognised for creative digital work and we wanted to be where it was about to kick off. We set up in the Spike Design business incubator and then after outgrowing our space we decided to move within the city to Bristol Temple Quarter.
What is the business?
We are a website design and development studio, we work with a whole range of organisations from universities to charities and also businesses. We find ourselves working more and more with Bristol charities and organizations, we have recently been redeveloping the new Knowle West Media Centre website (to be launched later this year) and we have been approached by Room 13 Hareclive to be their website guardians. We specialise in developing websites that work across all available platforms from desktop computers to mobile phones. We also work closely with agencies helping them to develop their designs into functional websites for their clients.
Interesting Facts?
Piers has started volunteering at the Bristol Dogs and Cats home as an Animal Care Assistant. The rescue home is located not far from Temple Quarter, just along Feeder Road. We are hoping that we can also use our photography skills to help promote the rescue home and help get more of Bristol’s unlucky animals re-homed.
How many people are the in your business?
Two.
David Darke, Photographer / Website Developer. David graduated from the Digital Art and Technology (iDAT) course at Plymouth University. In his spare time, David manages the Bristol music blog Gold Flake Paint and when he isn’t developing new sections for the website or building new WordPress plugins, he can be found recording live sessions around Bristol.
Piers Tincknell, UX / Website Designer. Piers also graduated from the Digital Art and Technology (iDAT) course at Plymouth University. With 2 years industry experience from design studios in the South West and coming from a family of business owners / entrepreneurs, setting up Atomic Smash with David seemed like the logical move forward.
Why have you chosen to relocate to BTQEZ?
After reading an article 12 months ago about the redevelopment of the Bristol Temple Quarter area we wanted to see what was happening first hand. We did a bit of research ourselves and got in touch with TCN to look around the Temple Studios building that was being refurbished. After seeing the potential of the building and it being located right next to Temple Meads Station it made practical sense to move the business here. Temple Studios is perfect for us because it has the reputation of being a business hub whilst TCN have managed to keep the new space feeling fresh and inspiring. Our clients love it when they come in off the train at Temple Meads and two minutes later they are sat in the breakout space drinking a coffee from Harts Bakery and discussing their ideas with us in a relaxed environment.
Contact Details:
Website: http://www.atomicsmash.co.uk
Twitter: @atomicsmash
