Dare ID

The duo which makes up Dare ID is bursting with enthusiasm and determined to break new frontiers. Mykal Pinder and Charlotte Dinesen have no intention of operating as a conventional design consultancy. Their approach is highly creative and operates by bringing together specialists at every possible occasion.

Pinder and Dinesen come from very different backgrounds.

Pinder, who has an MA in Public Art, freelanced for several years for interior heavyweights such as Design House, BDG McColl and Fitch, but became frustrated and felt that his own creativity was being restrained.

Danish-born Dinesen has no formal design training, but considers herself “avant-garde”. She has freelanced as an interior stylist, and is keen to sub-contract and promote up-and-coming designers. The pair joined forces after meeting on a personal development course last year.

They want to target the club, bar and restaurant scene and also expect to branch into film and television – what Pinder describes as “the cream of the entertainment and leisure business”. The surest way forward involves being flexible – keeping things low-budget and fun, says Dinesen. The pair have come up with a circular club concept called Club 2000 (pictured), described as “a space for the wild and un-ashamed who love dressing up and being the star for the night”. Dinesen and Pinder are now trying to market this to new and existing clubs.

Joint projects underway include coming up with concept ideas for the reception, boardroom and corridor areas for London publishing company The Builder Group. They seem to be striking the right tone in client meetings and they know how to create a buzz about their ideas, even if they don’t have any joint projects to brag about yet.

They have a network of specialist people such as lighting, furniture and graphic designers whom they will draw on heavily. And they are not unhappy about doling out responsibility. “It’s about giving people empowerment (something you don’t get when you are freelance),” says Pinder.

Along with cultivating and promoting a team of specialists, Dare ID is busy working on its self-promotion. Its high-profile launch party in February had at least two sponsors and tickets to the event were given away on Kiss FM. The plan is to throw similar networking parties every six months. “After two or three really good jobs we will have our name out there. We are big on publicity,” says Pinder.

It is too early to assess the duo’s business at the moment, but in a year’s time Dare ID expects to be five-strong. Projected annual turnover is 400 000, achieved by Pinder and Dinesen running at least two projects at a time.