Something Special Studios is raising the bar on collaboration and community building

From 2017, the studio grew in every way possible. Joaquin Bartra joined the team, and then finally in 2018 Janet Lee Rini came on board as studio director. They also started SSSpecial Projects, their platform for studio-born initiatives. SSSpecial Projects was the studio’s way of connecting with artists, institutions and cultural organisations outside of their client work, and has come to be one of the main qualities which sets apart SSS from other creative studios working today. “While none of us knew each other prior to joining SSS, each of our meetings happened organically and were built off a shared vision for creating things that were meaningfully unexpected and culturally enriching,” Michael explains. Most surprising however is the ways in which SSS flourished under the stress of Covid-19. Pre-pandemic, the team clocked in at only six people. Two years later, “and we’re sitting just shy of 30 full-time employees spread across two studios in NYC and LA,” Michael says.

One of the main ethos of SSS is collaboration. It’s of the utmost importance to everyone at the studio, and for good reason. “While we work on all types of projects now, we began with a heavy focus on events, and through these events, we quickly realised the power of curating the right collaborators,” Michael explains. “You can create community just through the people you have involved in the project, because if everyone involved enjoys being involved then they’re invested in a way that doesn’t always exist on brand projects.” It’s this collective spirit of collaboration which drives SSS to create the best of the best, and settle for nothing else. “It’s this sort of energy we now look to bring on all the projects we do, beyond events,” Michael adds. “That feeling of a project being more than just a transaction with an agency or brand, and something a bit more special.” Of course, it also helps that SSS itself began as a small team executing massive projects. The limitless possibilities of SSS' creative output has been a fire sparked back from its early days in operation. “Collaboration was a necessity for us, because it allowed us to scale and bring in experts that would be of best fit for the project at hand,” Michael says. “But, what began as a necessity has become integral to our practice.”

As Michael points out, SSS has far exceeded its original goals of being focused around events. While its port-of-call was at first to develop strategy, concept, curation and all creative and production elements of a brand event, the studio has now grown its design practice to incorporate much more in its wheelhouse. “This grew by simply reacting to our client and community needs, so during Covid-19 we expanded into digital,” Michael tells us. “Eventually, we also began creating a lot more content and campaigns, too. Now, we’re building our own brands from the ground up through ‘VentureSSS’.”

Its distinct, community and collaboration-first approach has allowed the team to be flexible on projects across any medium. “This ethos allows us to be super agile in that way and has led to the growth that you see now,” Michael says. “However, what’s been most important to us is ensuring we don’t dilute the values we started with as we grow. I think seeing how close we’ve stayed to the original vision in that sense has been the most gratifying.”