TALKING SHOP: Nick Curwin and Magnus Temple, former co-founders of Firefly (later Dragonfly), are making waves once more with their new production house The Garden. In 2011, they enjoyed good ratings on the UK's Channel 4 with 24 Hours in A&E, which has since aired around the world, and are eyeing a bigger push into the international market this year.
In this episode, Curwin and Temple speak to C21 about what led them to leave Dragonfly after it was bought out by Shine and how The Garden has (excuse the pun) grown since they set it up in June 2010. They recently had a second series of 24 Hours in A&E commissioned and have taken on a host of new staff as their rapid expansion continues. But that, as they tell Talking Shop, has brought its own challenges.
Temple says: "We had a really good ride at Firefly and Dragonfly; we really enjoyed it. It was the first company we had set up and it was a real adventure for us. Also I think we found a really good home for the company in Shine, but inevitably you fancy moving on in life from time to time and doing something different."
Curwin says: "The biggest challenge we faced in 2011 was the rapid growth that makes things harder to anticipate than if you're growing in an even, slow way. Moving into 2012, we have ended up with quite a different sort of indie than the one we set out to build – much more substantial, much more creatively ambitious and with a much bigger team than we expected to have."
