It’s fair to say that 2020 is a year that no one is going to forget… ever. Like a lot of people, this year has been pretty difficult to navigate and to remain employed. After finishing my contract at Charge Cars I returned to Makkina In November 2019. At the time the studio was very busy with several amazing projects lined up for early 2020.
But as we approached March 2020 these projects suddenly started disappearing as Europe and Asian went into lockdown. Most OEM work dried up overnight and I was facing the prospect of having no work or contract for the first time in my life. I wasn’t alone – many of my colleagues and friends were finding themselves in the same situation.
The next 6 months proved to be extremely difficult and I found myself not working for weeks at a time. Luckily Makkina were still attracting clients and I was also able to pick up a couple of private jobs as well, but it remained difficult both financially and mentally. At the time I assumed everything would return to normal fairly soon, and I just needed to stick things out. But as the year dragged on and a second lockdown loomed it was clear that this wasn’t going to be the case.
By September a few of the OEM’s were re-employing their contractors, with Bentley being one such company. I contacted my old colleagues with the prospect of contracting for them again for the remainder of the year. Fortunately, for me, this has paned out and I have work to see me through til Christmas.
It is now mid November and I wondering what next year is going to bring. There are signs that the industry is steadily starting to build momentum once again. I hope this is the case and 2021 is not a repeat of this year. Fingers crossed!