Spotlight
Mitre & Mondays
Financial clarity for a multi-disciplinary design studio
Design
Amongst Mitre & Mondays’ many ingenious creations is a truly enormous, butter-yellow ceramic dish (with handles), designed for those extravagant dinner party moments – maybe a “vast, multi-layered tiramisu,” as the studio suggests. And at last year’s London Design Festival, they launched a mobile cafe that unfolded from a repurposed Bedford Rascal, inviting visitors to reflect on ‘tolerance’ as both a design term and a human quality – while they served up strong shots of espresso and digestive biscuits.
But while Mitre & Mondays – which was founded in 2019 – has no end of creative spark, what founders Josef Shanley-Jackson and Finn Thomson were lacking was financial headspace.
“I was doing all the accounts at the start and living in constant fear that I was getting something wrong.” – Josef Shanley-Jackson, founder
“The gallery deals in big ideas that translate for its audience. We don’t use verbose language, but nor do we dumb down. We like to push the boundaries of what a gallery can do.”
Jeremy Epstein, co-founder
When Practice started working with Mitre & Mondays in 2023, the aim was simple: establish solid fundamentals. We introduced a steady rhythm of bookkeeping and built a supportive dialogue, so the team could finally sleep more easily.
As well as handling essential accountancy work, Practice gave voice to the team’s aspirations and anxieties by running a workshop to build a budget for the year ahead, and a 5-year financial plan that imagined what the future could look like.
“Now we know from the start what we can and can’t do. It’s all good having a strategy meeting with your team about what you want to do creatively, but previously the money side of things never came into it until much later on.” – Josef Shanley-Jackson, founder
“In our first meeting with Nick, it was clear that they were different. Practice flips the typical cookie-cutter approach; they have fewer clients, deeper relationships and work in incredible depth.”
Jeremy Epstein, co-founder
This combo of detailed focus on processes, and strategic planning, is supported by Practice’s flexible CFO ‘Office Hours’ – on-demand sessions for founders and senior leadership to bring opportunities and problems to the table. Practice helps sift priorities, challenge ideas, and act as a sounding board.
“I suppose you think that accountants might be the people to flash a red light and tell you not to do something – but we come to these meetings with a list of things we want to do and why, and Practice thinks up ways to make that happen.” – Josef Shanley-Jackson
“Practice is brilliant at translating a war chest of strategies that my business partner and I come up with and showing us what would actually happen if we pulled particular levers in the business.”
Jeremy Epstein, co-founder
The partnership with Mitre & Mondays continues to develop as the market changes and the studio’s design focus evolves, with Practice helping the founders assess opportunities, troubleshoot new areas of legislation and stay focused on objectives.
“One of the things that has always really stood out is how much time Practice invests in us. We’re a small client, but we’ve never been made to feel like that.” – Josef Shanley-Jackson, founder
Looking for thoughtful financial support as you build your studio? Get in touch.
