KNOW IDEAS PODCAST
Dan Walters and Anthony Peters
It shouldn’t take 6 hours to get from London to Brighton, but one flat tyre, a quick visit to Kwik Fit and a very patient AA man later and we were on our way to the seaside. This episode feels like a creative quest, we are on our way to meet Dan Walters and Anthony Peters the duo behind the Know Ideas podcast. Ever wonder where certain ideas come from, well they did and are making it their job to find out.
The podcast was born of a genuine curiosity for the creative story and what drives people and their ideas in the fast-changing landscape of the 21st century. Ant Peters is a graphic designer, printmaker, and podcaster as he describes himself “I do a bit of everything”. Dan Walters is the Creative Director of his own creative studio called See Creatures in Brighton, focusing on surface patterns, he also designs and paints large- scale murals (more of that later). The two met in 2016, they both knew they wanted to hang out more, without the resulting hangover so the Know Ideas podcast was born.
The podcast is set in the creative person’s space, in a ‘through the keyhole’ Loyd Grossman style. The duo loves having a good old nosy into these studios (we spent the afternoon in Dan’s studio, so we know how they feel) They genuinely love the work of the person they are interviewing and always try to cover a wide roster of creative industries, so they don’t get stuck with the same story.
Ant describes it “It’s just an adventure really, it’s a bit Gonzo” The podcast introduction is an insight into Ant and Dan’s journey to the location, then some chat about lunch (there is always lunch) This Alan Bennett style dialogue is slow podcasting at its best. Each person has a story, not just amazing work but a genuine life story and on top of that you’ll find out if they had a piece of cake and a nice cup of tea pre-recording.
“We didn’t want it to be ‘What’s your favourite pen, what’s your favourite colour?” it had to be more than that. Researching the podcast is their favourite part of this immersive process. For a short period, they know more about the person than the individual does of themselves.
They said, “We love to do the research to the point where the person knows we understand their journey” Other podcasts churn through guests like there is no tomorrow and they are just filling air until the next interview is ready to go, this hamster wheel of recording is something the guys aren’t in to. Dan says, “we get so much good stuff, it’s so hard to cut out anything, Ant edits and often everything stays in”. They did warn us that some of the running times are lengthy, this is music to our ears when you’ve got a return journey on the M25 to deal with
“The idea that we can hang out and come back with something that we’ve made is our main reason for doing this, we meet we go on an adventure, we meet someone really inspiring and then we come home with something, we can share with people, that’s why we are doing it, it’s always an adventure and we always get lunch!”
The Know Ideas Live happened recently, this isn’t a live podcast but an evening of creative talks bringing people together that are really interesting. Anthony Burrell, Supermundane, Amber Elise and Annie Frost Nicholson kicked of the inaugural event. Ant chats about the event and comments “It’s what we are missing in general in this country, we could all do with understanding what other people do more, it would maybe make people more sympathetic”
We couldn’t leave without asking the pair about Brighton, we’d only spent a short while with the duo but their love of creativity spreads quicker than a 99-ice cream on a hot day.
“Brighton is an independent place, there is a corporate area, but in general there are a lot of smaller companies, organisations, shops, restaurants, craft breweries etc. It has a spirit of independence that a lot of other cities don’t have and that fosters creativity, there is a real creative scene here, and it means that we can collaborate with other like- minded businesses that have the same outlook on life”
This collaboration and creative spirit has seen Dan and Ant work together on the Look Again Supergraphics Festival in Newhaven. The festival has been Ant's project, he has pulled together graphic designers, illustrators and mural artists, to adorn unloved walls in the heart of the town. Dan has painted a beautiful scene of a concrete underpass. The population of Newhaven is 13,000 and there is now one piece of public art for every 1000 people. The town is full of joy and colour. We know times are tough but the joy that these guys spread is infectious, and bringing a bit of colour into everyones lifes can't be a bad think can it?
Take a listen to the Know ideas podcast at Knowideaspodcast.co.uk
Or follow Dan on Instagram at Seecreaturesdesign and Ant at studio_imeus
