We recently connected with Margot Rada and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Margot, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

When I was in my last year of college in San Francisco, I had completed most of the sculpture courses at sfai, but was still looking for some further education. Since there weren’t any foam carving classes, I found Props2C in Bayview, who was willing to hire an eager 21 year old part-time. It was my first experience working in a small but professional studio and I knew nothing about foam but I wanted to work. I demonstrated that I could quickly apply my formal education and once I learned each stage of the production process, I had eventually been given a couple projects to supervise. Working there for eight months introduced me to the inner-workings of an inspiring and productive creative business, as well as an exposure to many of the tools, techniques, and applications I often use — and try to improve upon — today.

Margot, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline:

My name is Margot Rada, I’m an artist and fabricator.

I knew I wanted to be an artist by the time I was six or seven. My father was an architect and he was very encouraging of me pursuing art, but the path to my current practice has been somewhat meandering. After a gap year in Hungary, I studied sculpture and new genres at sfai — a small and now defunct fine art school in North Beach. After graduating with an undergraduate degree and trying to survive as an artist in San Francisco, I moved to Los Angeles where there was more space for a sculpture practice and more opportunity for work as an art handler. I had clung to what little I was able to maintain for a studio practice and felt I was ramping into a good routine when I was very abruptly invited to tour as a wardrobe technician for a musical group for whom my friend was costume designing at the time. Since I knew how to sew and solder LEDs, I was given the chance to tour the world and fix costumes and make friends and important music industry connections. I was so impressed and fascinated with all the components that went into a tour that once ours had ended, I decided to take some set design courses at Central St. Martins in London. It felt like the intersection of music and art could become my home, all until the pandemic began. After six months of isolation, I found a job (safely) working at a set building company in Los Angeles. I figured I could work my way back into set design from a practical standpoint but that experience led me to become a union sculptor instead, having some amazing opportunities to build sets for film and television, and revisit my studio practice. Once touring had regained its momentum, the connections I previously made had discovered I was fabricating things and so the work started trickling in to build costumes and elements for the stage. Currently my practice is still an intersection of a few things and it’s been such a pleasant surprise to come full circle in some ways all while still pursuing new endeavors.

what type of products/services/creative works you provide :

In my studio, I produce sculpture, props, sets, installations, creative consulting — whatever you want!

what problems you solve for your clients
and/or what you think sets you apart from others :

Historically I’ve solved a lot of logistical and spatial problems, and I’ve also brought a lot of visions to life. A client will approach me with something they want made, whether it’s a 9’ tall mushroom, or a set of custom sculpted Satan’s hands to be used as microphone covers, and I’m able to conceptualize how to make it, sometimes a few different ways. I know about a variety of materials and applications, and have some niche skills that have proven helpful in the fabrication world. I’ve generated relationships with all sorts of vendors and can assemble things within a pretty tight turnaround. I know there are a lot of companies that already do this, but I’m an artist and so I can put a certain amount of personality into the project and make things feel unique and original when it’s their concept, or bring a certain quality and style to my personal work for others to enjoy.

What are you most proud of:

I take pride in my adaptive tendencies and the ability to problem-solve and execute things rather quickly. I’m proud of my accumulative experience and skills that I bring to the table and really enjoy when I’m able to fully utilize them on fun and robust projects.

and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.:

my work is constantly evolving and I’m always trying to absorb new methods, systems, and approaches to making. My work, like many others’ work, is very physical and labor intensive. We live in such a fast paced, content-driven society now that when you actually see something physical in the world or something digital that wasn’t produced by AI, it’s important to remember that there’s a lot of manual and calculating work that goes into it. Some clients are very quick to say the work might be too expensive or the timeline is too slow, and sure there may be someone out there able to do the job faster or for less money, but physical creative work, for as fast as I can be, still takes time and energy and intention. I believe it’s important to respect and preserve the value of the creative process even though it’s becoming harder and harder to quantify in the age of mass automation and digitalization. Even though being a sculptor in the 21st century is very different than being one in the 19th or 20th, it still calls upon a whole host of experience and skills and endurance to produce things for others to enjoy.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I think one of my main goals is to bring my artistic background and sensibilities, and the playfulness that comes with it, to the work of fabrication and design on a larger scale. My background informs what I do, and I want to find meaningful ways to bring this to large-scale public installations and touring stage design, which have been goals of mine for some time. I also find it incredibly rewarding to teach my practical skills to others. On bigger projects in the past, I’ve had the privilege of employing other artists and craftsmen, allowing them the space to grow and practice new skills, and I look forward to future opportunities to continue diversifying my skill set and sharing that experience with others.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

It seems the obvious answer is the covid pivot, but I did have a pivoting career change before that as well. After art school I was pursuing a career as an artist and supporting myself as a freelance art handler when I was unexpectedly invited to tour with a musical group as their wardrobe technician and in-show dresser. Even though I had never toured before, the combination of my skills demonstrated a relatively seamless transition. After that first tour I pursued some further education in Set Design in London, and then when covid happened, I pivoted from that pursuit to set building in Los Angeles, and then further becoming a union sculptor.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.margotrada.com
• Instagram: @margot_rada

Image Credits
Margot Rada, RADA LLC