Diane McArter: Holding a torch for tomorrow’s talent

What is Furlined’s origin story ?

James Studholme, founder of Blink and BlinkInk, became my business partner when we started Furlined in 2005. 

James didn’t ask for a plan. Instead, he quietly gave me the runway and the belief to begin what would become Furlined.

Who are the people who championed you in your career?

Ridley Scott tapped me to run RSA USA when I was 31, and I had his steady hand at my back supporting me throughout this education. 

If you’re still growing, you need champions at every stage.

Who are the people who you have championed?

Championing is a mutual relationship rather than a one-way street. What I hope to offer is what was offered to me: belief, and the space and conditions to fulfill one’s potential.

Speck & Gordon were there at the inception of Furlined. Over time, that’s become a reciprocal relationship of mutual championing. We’ve grown with each other and they’ve stood by me and Furlined as it evolved.

If you’re still growing, you need champions at every stage.

ManifestWorks, which Furlined co-founded, is championing at a different scale. It’s about opening doors for people impacted by foster care, homelessness, and incarceration. Watching someone you met as a programme participant turn up on set years later, supporting themselves and their families, and making a difference in their communities, is incredibly moving. That’s talent: the talent to transform your own life when someone believes in you enough to open a door.

There are so many talented people we have worked with over the years. Directors, producers, crews, editors, music and sound designers, the people who have worked with us on staff. Carell Augustus, who shot my photo for this interview, has become a renowned photographer and visual storyteller. His book, Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments, recreates iconic scenes from movies and recasts the roles with Black celebrities.

Above: The Truth Is Worth It campaign for The New York Times, which picked up two D&AD Black Pencils, a Cannes Lions Grand Prix and ADC Best of Show.

What were three standout moments for you when everything changed?

1 - Leaving a previous partnership and standing on the edge of what would become Furlined. There’s a moment when you realise you need to leap, and you’re responsible for creating the container if you want the work and the culture to reflect your values. It’s thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.

2 - Articulating and making an annual commitment around ‘doing good is good business’. Through vision work with people like [leadership consultants] Meredith and Dan Beam, and encounters with expansive thinkers like John C. Jay, former Global ECD at Wieden+Kennedy, we committed to a model where values and creativity weren’t separate conversations. That shift has guided the work and partnerships we pursue.

3 - Founding LoveChild, a sister company to Furlined, in 2016. This was about creating a space where talent could operate higher up the ladder of influence: as creators of original work that shapes the cultural conversation and lives outside the realm of traditional advertising. LoveChild lives in between advertising and entertainment, developing original film, TV and non-commercial work.

What’s one piece of work that continues to impress you?

Frank Budgen’s 1999 PlayStation film Double Life endures because it isn’t about technology; it’s about people. By showing a diverse cast delivering a single, shared confession about the “other life” they lead when playing games, it reframed gaming as a human, unifying space for identity and imagination. It feels less like a commercial and more like a mirror: you can see some part of yourself in every face on screen.

I’ve learned that doing good and doing well are not opposing choices.

Then there’s the 2015 Designed to be Forgotten campaign for Quilted Northern by Bennett Miller out of Droga5 New York and Smuggler. It’s toilet paper. The least glamorous brief imaginable. And yet the team found humour and a human insight, making the mundane memorable.

What have you learned during your career that you wish you’d known at the start?

That champions aren’t a one-off, early-career gift. If you’re serious about growth, you will need different champions at different stages: people who believe in you, challenge you, and share their candor with care. Finally, I’ve learned that doing good and doing well are not opposing choices.

Above: Frank Budgen’s iconic PlayStation film Double Life.

What new skillsets will directors and producers need in the coming years?

Given the speed of change, I’m skeptical of anyone who claims to know exactly which tools we’ll need. But I’m clear on the underlying capacities.

Firstly, there’s a need for deep creativity fuelled by curiosity, collaboration and imagination. To paraphrase the late Sir Ken Robinson, creativity is the ability to connect ideas that don’t obviously belong together and create something new that has meaning and value. As machines get better at remixing what already exists, the human advantage will be in making non-obvious, emotionally intelligent leaps.

Furlined is 21 in June. What will the next 21 years look like?

In 2011, we hosted a gathering called All Tomorrow’s Donuts where we stepped 25 years into the future to ask: “What role might brands play in people’s lives?”

Creativity is the ability to connect ideas that don’t obviously belong together and create something new that has meaning and value.

We invited creatives, producers, strategists and thought leaders to join us for an immersive one day session. Looking back at the vision boards that came out of that day, they were uncannily prescient.

Where do I see Furlined in 2047? We will have new vision boards after hosting our next All Tomorrow’s Donuts this autumn. It comes back to asking what value brands will have in people’s lives, because that’s what will ultimately shape both the work and the business.