Creative Industry Finance talk to programme participants, muf.

We started muf architecture/art in 1995. We are an all female architecture firm which specialise in working on public realm projects, the majority of which are streets and open spaces, although we also author art, buildings and exhibitions.

We employ ten members of staff to keep the business running. Our work is mainly in East London but not exclusively so. Recently built projects include Barking Town Square, a new park for Folkstone and Altab Ali Park on the Whitechapel Road.

There were two things which attracted us to apply for the programme. Firstly, the fact that Creative Industry Finance offered a loan and not a grant, and secondly, the business support which comes as part of the process was very important for us.

The biggest challenge that we face as a business is managing our ambitions for projects with fees. The business support we received from the programme taught us skills so we could make effective forecasts. It taught us to take a step back and make decisions, and gave us the confidence to negotiate when we had to move studios in a hurry.

At muf our proudest moments are when we see a project being happily inhabited.