How London designers are making it work

London may have a lot to shout about design-wise, but is it actually possible to survive as a creative in one of the world's most expensive cities? Ahead of London Design Festival, we spoke to five local designers about the challenges they face.

"I'm willing to live very modestly" said Tessa Silva

"Financially, I've had the toughest start to the year that I've had in the 10 years since graduating. I was teaching and assisting another artist before, I had my finger in a couple of other pies, but I let it all fall by the wayside. I suddenly found myself in a position where I didn't have anything to fall back on. It's taught me I have to keep connections with people and let them know I can still work for them, even if it seems like I have a big commission.

"Any time I do make money, I put it back into making new things in my studio. I'm willing to live very modestly, and hopefully that pays off one day. I don't buy new clothes or go out for dinner a lot; I make my own packed lunches. I live in a small flat that I've made beautiful – that's just part of choosing to live in London.

"A good currency for designers is doing swaps with people. I've gotten a photographer to photograph my work because I've given them a piece of my furniture, or I've got some nice jewellery because I've swapped it for work. It's a way of owning a few precious things when you can't afford to pay upfront for them.

"Even though this year has been really hard, I've been getting a few bites this summer that are making me excited and make me think this could be something long term and sustainable for the future, which is a really nice feeling."

Tessa Silva is exhibiting at Max Radford Gallery's Progressive Permanence

"You find nifty ways of transporting wood when you're going on a bike everywhere" said Jake Robertson

"Work for a designer who's got plenty of work for you to do, and they might be keen for you to use their workshop in your spare time – that's what James Shaw has done for me. I had to get inventive and learn how to make stuff that can fold up, disappear, and slip into the cracks of the workshop so I'm not taking up someone's space. It does mean you've got to graft outside of work and on the weekend, but it gave me access to great machinery.

"A great place to go for cheap offcut materials is Renée Materials. You'll find stuff there that you would never think could make furniture. I cycle – I'm not paying for transport, I can't do it – but you find nifty ways of transporting wood when you're going on a bike everywhere.

"I don't really make money from my practice. I've sold a couple of things, but it's not a money-making business. Hopefully one day I can get there, but that's a reason I would suggest people work part-time or full-time for a designer. I don't have to keep pumping my own work out. I also need a job that pays the rent. I can make good work and keep putting those things out – I don't need to dilute my Instagram by constantly putting stuff out for likes when that doesn't equal more sales."

Jake Robertson is exhibiting at Out of Worky and Design Everything's With Limitations

"My hack is trying to overcome my feeling of cringe" said Hanna Fastrich

"There are a lot of challenges in London, but it's a super-rich environment, and what's most important to me is my community. I have friends from uni or group exhibitions that are also designers, and we support each other. I work on ceramics and metal in my workshop, and sometimes I want to do some wood or something else, which a friend can give me access to. There's a beautiful sharing economy in my community – there's no gatekeeping.

"I always intensely apply to open calls, prizes and grants. I get loads of rejections, but every once in a while you get a yes. In the beginning, it felt cringe to reach out to people or send an email with my portfolio to a gallery, so my hack is trying to overcome my feeling of cringe and not to think about the worst possible outcome. Someone could say no and reject you, but that's not a horrible outcome, it's just a numbers game in the end."

Hanna Fastrich is exhibiting at Slancha's Hanging Baskets

"I turned to using waste materials as a necessity" said ThisIsByron

"My biggest overhead is material costs. That's how I turned to using waste materials – as a necessity. I then looked at what I could find within London and made a patchwork series with hardwood offcuts I found from various studios.

"I currently have a part-time job at the Royal Academy Schools as a workshop tutor. It's important I earn a wage that supports London living but also pays back into my studio.

"London is tricky, but it's also a bit of magic. Unit.d in Haggerston is like a church service affair where designers descend each month to hang out and share ideas – this only exists because of living in the city."

ThisIsByron is curating We Lift Each Other

"It's more valuable to have relationships with expert makers" said Marc Sweeney

"After I graduated in London, I moved back to Scotland and quickly discovered that I wasn't part of any design community. I may as well have been making work on the moon – there's just no point doing it if nobody's engaging with you.

"I am wrestling with the balance of being in London to network and work freelance, and I'm going to be teaching at Instituto Marangoni, then coming up to Scotland to make things. My family runs a passenger boat business on Loch Lomond, so we've got unbelievable workshop facilities. The long-term plan is to have a space in London, but it is eye-wateringly expensive – almost pretty much unaffordable for a single emerging designer.

"I'm a hands-on maker, but my work's got to a point where I need the help of experts. I'm outsourcing some work, or certain stages of my work. It's more valuable to have relationships with expert makers, which there are loads of in London, than it is to have your own space with machinery and you're trying to do absolutely everything yourself."

Marc Sweeney is exhibiting at Slancha's Hanging Baskets

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