A Solution to a Broken System: Behind Stink Studios’ Launch of Not For Hire

Late last year, Kunal Muzumdar and Michael Kushner, managing director and executive creative director, respectively, of Stink Studios, were working on a project that involved a roundtable discussion with some Stink Films directors during the early stages. The experience made them realise how powerful it can be to craft an idea with the artists who would ultimately execute it, instead of just handing them something that’s already fully baked. 

It’s this moment, says Michael, that led to the idea of launching Not For Hire (NFH), a new creative collective within Stink Studios (which is part of the wider Stink family, which also encapsulates Stink Films). NFH is comprised of ‘unique and diverse voices’ – such as artists, photographers, fashion designers, gallerists, musicians, comedy writers, and makers - and will offer brands the opportunity to tap into a community of ‘artists for advertising’ to help create, develop and execute ‘breakthrough creative’. “This [project last year] got us to think about the ways in which this could translate outside of just directors, and it’s what led to the relationships and collaborations that make up the NFH collective,” says Michael.

Stink Studios says that working with NFH will provide brands with a number of key advantages, including access to a diverse group of talent, new and unexpected perspectives on their business, and a flexible business model that makes it easy to plug NFH into existing marketing plans. It also gives the members of the collective access to brands and opportunities that they wouldn’t normally be a part of. 

“After crafting a NFH brief with the brand, Stink Studios will identify a subset of the NFH collective who we think would be a great fit,” says Michael. “The artists will submit their ideas, and the brand leaders will be able to choose their favourites. At that point, the ideas selected will be fleshed out and the artists will get to talk through their vision with the brand — how it works, what it would look like, what resources they need and why they love it. From there the goal is to green light the idea and bring it to life.”

NFH will be spearheaded by Michael and Kunal, as well as Isabella Tobiason, who has been brought on board as director of the collective. She also came up with the name. Prior to joining Stink Studios in September last year, Michael started a brand called BABOON TO THE MOON, and Isabella was his first hire. “I came to realise that, among many other things, she has a superpower of recognising talented artists before they become household names. Kunal and I decided that Isabella would be the perfect person to curate and run the collective.”

While curating the collective, one major parameter that the team decided on was looking for artists that had a strong point of view. “I believe that the most interesting artists see the world a bit differently,” says Michael, “and they’re able to pull us into that world in a way that we can relate to. This is ultimately what great brands do very well, and why we think NFH will be successful.”

There are currently 20 members in the NFH collective. Such as Maya Man, an artist focused on contemporary culture on the internet. Her websites, generative series, and installations examine dominant narratives around femininity, authenticity, and the performance of self online. She is the creator of the browser extension Glance Back and the Art Blocks curated collection FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT. 

Isabella Lalonde is a New York-based artist and creative director, who founded her label Beepy Bella in 2019. Her jewellery and accessories have created a lasting impact on the industry, as well as built a cult following through celebrity placements on figures like Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Post Malone, Bad Bunny, Bella Hadid and many more. 

Creative director, filmmaker and event producer, Alex Sovoda, recently earned a Vimeo staff pick for his short film ‘Compounding Negativity’. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Enzo The Magazine, a multimedia publication centred on restoring ‘hope in the community’. 

And Lily Max is the head designer for eyewear brand A Better Feeling. Her design portfolio also features collaborations with graffiti artist KATSU and footwear designer Ancuta Sarca, as well as custom pieces for music artists like Rosalia, J Balvin, and Eartheater.

The full list is made up of similarly diverse creative minds from outside the realm of traditional advertising, all of which feeds into Kunal and Michael’s initial ambition with NFH: to offer a solution to what they consider a broken system. 

“So much of what we’re seeing in the industry looks the same, and that can make things easily forgettable,” Kunal said in a press release announcing NFH. “This is because so many of the agencies making the work (and the people in them) also look and think the same. But there is an incredible creative community doing amazing things in other parts of culture, and we’re excited to bring these two groups closer together. As we’ve always told our client partners, if you want work that’s different, you need to work differently. Not for Hire helps solve that problem.”

“It’s harder and harder for brands to break through, and bringing more unique, diverse voices and skill sets into the mix means more interesting ideas that better stand out from the crowd,” says Michael. “Part of our ethos is to experiment and innovate around how we bring creativity to brands, and this is the next chapter in that mission. We’re excited to see where it goes.”