Back in March I had the pleasure of once again photographing Rob Law MBE, the founder of Bristol based firm Magmatic and the makers of the worldwide smash-ride-on-suitcase-hit that is the Trunki.
I first met Rob in 2006 when he received his first consignment of Trunki’s from China at Avonmouth Docks, Bristol. Who would have thought that after appearing on Dragon’s Den that same year and having his Trunki broken by Dragon, Theo Paphitis, he would now be celebrating well over 1million Trunki suitcase sales in 1,564 stores in 62 countries around the world.
The reason for my return to Magmatic was to photograph Rob for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Founded in 1964, the CF Trust is the UK’s only national charity dedicated to all aspects of cystic fibrosis (CF). As well as funding research to treat and cure CF they also aim to ensure appropriate clinical care and support for everyone with the disease.
The charity has undergone a re-branding and Rob, who has Cystic Fibrosis, is featured in the launch issue of their magazine, ‘Is’. The task you think would be a simple one. Just get some interesting shots of Rob in his work environment. On my arrival I noticed a board covered in press and publicity photos of Rob at their Bristol Headquarters utilizing almost every area of the building, including the escape chute from the top floor to the tea-room, making my chances of getting that totally unique shot pretty slim.
My favourite shot from the day was taken in the lift of the building which featured an outline of an astronaut on it’s glass doors. The colour of which was strikingly similar to the new yellow branding adopted by the CF Trust. I just had to persuade Rob to stand in an elevator on tip-toes and peer through the ‘helmet visor’ of the suit.
As always Rob was the perfect subject and more than happy to help in anyway to create some engaging images for the CF Trust.
Click here to watch a truly inspirational and fantastically well made video about Rob, by former ITV executive producer, Tim Miller, for the CF Trust.
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