By Madeleine Maher

Here at Farley, the specialist prop hire company for TV, films and events, we offer a limited number of work experience placements each year. Madeleine joined us in early 2025 for work experience at Farley, and was kind enough to share some words about her experiences:

I was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to gain invaluable work experience placement at Farley, the antique prop hire company. During my work experience week, I learned so much about the props and set decorating industry, from inventory management of Farley’s immense catalogue, to the importance of strong, reliable client relationships in an industry that can move so quickly. Here’s an overview of how I spent my week and what I learnt during my time at Farley.

Monday:

On arriving at Farley, I was met by Elizabeth in reception, who made me a lovely cup of tea and explained the week ahead of me, as well as what her job entailed. After meeting everyone in the office, I had a tour of the four sprawling, interconnected warehouses where I had the chance to see incredible, high-quality pieces from Neolithic times up to the 20^th century. The extensive collection of period props really does feel like a treasure trove.

Once I had my bearings, I started work for the morning, helping in reception. I learnt about POs, filing and phone systems, and enjoyed some client interactions with people looking for items for film and TV set design. It was great to see how the various teams interact and carry out their roles to make the operation run so smoothly. I was amazed by the logistics and organisation of such a large-scale operation!

In the afternoon, I moved on to help Jo in Sales. Everyone in the office was incredibly kind, patient, and welcoming. I learnt about advice notes, and I got hands-on experience searching the website (and then the warehouses) for items that clients had photographed and wanted to order. Jo taught me a whole new language for furniture – from ‘demi-lune’ to ‘empire’. By the end of the day, I had started to get to grips with the specific vocabulary.

Tuesday:

On Tuesday, I was in Props Galore with Spiros. Props Galore specialises in historically accurate action props – with beautiful items ranging from authentic Victorian dressing table sets, to jewellery, canes, textiles and toys from across the centuries. Here, I supported with answering emails and dealing with requests and returns.  I learnt that Props Galore not only helps set decorators and props contacts, but also lots of costumer designers too, thanks to its extensive collection.

In the afternoon, I got to work organising some of the drawers (which was incredibly satisfying) and creating displays. While this was daunting at first, I soon relaxed into it and began to enjoy getting creative!

Wednesday:

When I first arrived at Lewis & Kaye, it was already busy. Lewis & Kaye specialises in period tableware and glassware – whether clients are looking to create an 18^th century banquet scene or a 1940s party, it’s all there! I got to work helping two clients pick out and package things straight away for ongoing productions. I really enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the work and the face-to-face interactions with customers. After a quick tour, Amir from Lewis & Kaye taught me how best to wrap and unwrap different kinds of tableware and, once packaged, how to label the boxes, create advice notes, and request purchase orders. I was given the opportunity to do a return on my own!

After lunch, I was tasked with creating a display for the company’s Instagram account. I worked from a brief to create and style content to highlight our collection of Pewter wares. I had fun playing with the various arrangements and locations to shoot around the warehouse.

Thursday:

On Thursday I was in Spiller, where I met Simon who was so kind and engaging. Spiller offers an extraordinary collection of period paintings and frames, artists materials, sculptures, photographs and much more, perfect for creating realistic and authentic scenes for TV and film productions. In the morning, I helped him to create orders and answer emails from clients. We then had the task of organising the back of the painting storage racks. I learnt about frames and picture hangings and so much about the world of art history. I was amazed that so many of the pieces were genuine works of art. Having studied art and art history, I was fascinated by it all, as well as the vast number of works in the collection– I would have liked to sit and go through all of them!

Friday:

On Friday, I was given the opportunity to return to my department of choice. I had had such an incredible week I was finding it hard to choose! In the end, I spent the morning with Lewis & Kaye and my afternoon with Spiller.  I spent the morning with Amir and Mark packing orders, processing returns, and solidifying my knowledge of the filing system.

After lunch, I headed back to Spiller to spend the rest of my last afternoon with the wonderful Simon. We answered more emails and processed a couple more orders for set designs of different centuries. By this point, I felt I could almost use the system by myself! In the afternoon, I found the Spiller’s office occupied by the set decorator and art director for an exciting new film, so I had the opportunity to listen in on their meeting and watch Simon’s input with requests for the set, which was invaluable!

I had thoroughly enjoyed myself and truly learnt so much. I now feel far better equipped to head into this industry with such a vast and integral arsenal of knowledge in my possession and the confidence and goodwill of the incredible team at Farley under my belt.

If you’re working on a TV or film production, or even if you’re planning an event, Farley has the most amazing collection of props to hire from almost any historical era. Furthermore, the experts here can offer invaluable advice and recommendations. I’d highly recommend a visit to explore the vast collection!