Four Graphic Design graduates who decided to start their careers together after studying together at Sheffield Hallam University have won the £5,000 top prize at the Hallam Enterprise Awards.
Studio Rife, a design collective founded by Andrew Bainbridge, James Popple-Beckett, Will Rea and Callum Seymour, having already established a collaborative and varied network across the Sheffield creative scene.
The group, which provide creative services including illustration, corporate identity and film work, picked up the award at the Hallam Enterprise Awards, held at Hallam Hall in the University’s city campus.
They were one of ten finalist entrepreneurs who represented a broad range of business sectors.
There was a total of £10,000 worth of prize money on offer including £5,000 for the winning business and a total of £4,000 to be shared equally between the two runners-up. A further £1,000 was awarded to the audience vote for the best business pitch of the evening.
The runners-up were Bigger Flower, an online florist and gifting platform serving the Chinese market founded by Wenxin Deng an international graduate in interior design, and The Skateboard Physiotherapist, founded by physiotherapy graduate Ben Rowles who has combined his passion for skateboarding with building his own private physiotherapy practice for skateboarders.
The audience vote for the best business pitch went to Okapi Books, a small press publishing company founded by public relations graduate Akeem Balogun.
Caroline Nouvellon, Student and Graduate Enterprise Manager at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The Hallam Enterprise Awards provide us with a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the potential and achievements of some of the most outstanding student and graduate businesses we have had the pleasure of working with over the past 12 months.
“After much deliberation, our judges were finally able to agree on this year’s award winners, Studio Rife, who I am sure have a bright future ahead of them.”
The other finalists at the event included:
- Open House Pictures, founded by performance and professional practice graduates Daniel Bale & Joseph Palmer.
- Seven by Five, founded by fashion student Alicia Tilney.
- She’ll Grow Out of It, founded by fashion management and communication graduate Paige Graham-Buckle.
- Swype Creative, founded by graphic design student Wesley Holmes.
- Virtual Pixel, founded by digital media production graduates Diogo Salgado & Tania Silvestre.
- Yoki Social Table, founded by international business management graduate Denny KH Song.
