24 hours with Squad Ink co-founders Matthew and Terry Squadrito
Matthew and Terry Squadrito are twins, creative directors and the co-founders of Sydney-based design and branding studio Squad Ink. In this 24 hours with, they talk gin, problem solving and the importance of a team lunch.
6.30am
Terry: Wake up and squeeze in a much needed F45 session in Potts Point. Feeling the pump!
Matthew: Wake and round up my 3-year-old twin girls in time for daycare drop off. Sometimes I sneak in a cheeky swim at the beach or coffee and croissant from Bakery Republic in Bondi… fingers crossed for a prime seat in direct sun.
8am
Terry/Matthew: Arrive in Potts Point at the Squad Ink offices. We catch up for our usual directors pow-wow at our local coffee haunt, Room Ten.
We always make a point of getting out of the office regularly to discuss new business opportunities, financials and to take a step back from it all. It’s always a good time to knock back a piccolo and avo toast with trout. Simple pleasures.
8.30am
Terry: Head up to the office to catch up on emails. Hoping for less than 50 to sift through – ha. Throw on some motivational music – a bit of Anderson .Paak doing the trick at the moment.
9.00am
Matthew: Sifting through images from a recent photoshoot. A nice morning ease-in task to get the engine humming.
11.30am
Matthew: Get stuck into problem solving a packaging solution for The Grounds tea tin box in preparation for today’s meeting at their newly-opened city venue.
Terry: Mapping out the brand story for an exciting new alcohol brand in Melbourne. Need to get it all completed for my trip down to present next week. Time to lock down on this. No distractions!
12.30pm
Matthew/Terry: Lunch, Lunch, Lunch. We always try to get the team to sit at the table together. Our cardinal rule at Squad Ink is no work chat over lunch. It’s a time out to catch up on what’s happening in each other’s lives outside of the office and also take a break when we’re all under the pump on deadlines. Even if it’s 15 minutes, it goes a long way.
1.30pm
Matthew/Terry: Jump on the train to Galleries Victoria to visit The Grounds of the City. We have a meeting with Dan from The Grounds’ creative team to discuss current projects in the pipeline.
It’s always pretty darn rewarding to see our work out in the wild. We’ve been working with the guys for years and we feel like part of the family now.
3.00pm
Matthew/Terry: Back to the office for a creative team workshop and brainstorm. We usually all get together when we need to break the back on a packaging concept – often more heads together tackling a solution prevails.
4.30pm
Terry: Review a presentation and help fill in the gaps.
Matthew: Creative review of some images we created for Archie Rose X Horisumi gin collaboration. Images need some post-production work to get them looking extra slick. Nearly there!
6.00pm
Matthew/Terry: Cheeky end of day drink with the team. It’s been a massive week and everyone has been a little run off their feet. A drink and some healthy banter goes a long way. Terry is acting the fool with the lucky pig. Standard.
7.00pm
Matthew/Terry: Home time. Yas!
