Being a design technician wasn’t always the plan for Tim Appleby. Born in Norway, he moved to England as a child and later to Canada as a teenager. After years of working in the film industry, the pandemic pushed him to change paths. Following his fiancée to Bucharest, he discovered education almost by accident and found a place where his creativity and experience could come together.

What follows is Tim’s story, in his own words:

Before I was working in the film industry, I did film first and then moved to part time in AV [audio-visual] whilst still doing film work, then switched to just AV for about 11 months before moving to Romania. I was working in audio-visual corporate sound and lighting in events, trade shows, things like that. That was cool. It was TED2022 in Vancouver where Elon Musk turned up; it was pretty much the last thing I did in Vancouver before moving to Romania.  

In the film industry, over 15 shows in different roles mostly in the locations department, scouting, or as a PA. I worked on about 15 different shows including Supernatural, Arrow, The Flash, Charmed, The Art of Racing in the Rain, a Guillermo del Toro produced film called Antlers, a Drew Goddard movie called Bad Times at the El Royale, where I met Jon Hamm, the Twilight Zone, and Disney’s Descendants 2. And then a whole bunch of Hallmark movies, like Christmas movies.

I did not like the weird hours, the often dangerous work, and the lifestyle associated with either film or AV. I wanted out of both. 

How I got here is that I followed my fiancée. She is a primary school teacher. Before COVID I was in the film industry and I really wanted to get out. I did it for three and a half years and decided this isn’t for me. I didn’t want this lifestyle. And then COVID happened and everything fell apart. I took a break between 2021 from both film and AV and ended up doing landscaping for a year afterwards. 

Photo by Maria T.

My girlfriend, who had moved to Bucharest pre-COVID, was stuck here. She came over here and then she did a teaching set while she was here because she couldn’t go home. She was going to stay here but we started meeting up in places in the world. I was bored of Vancouver, after COVID and after the career jumps, trying to figure out my life. I decided to come here cold. So I turned up and, within less than a year, I was working here at AISB. And I think it’s brilliant because it’s a whole mix of everything I was doing before.

The most rewarding part is when students get it, when people are curious. We’ve had some students who find [the Design Center] as a kind of an alternative to academics. It’s a place where you can build your ideas. Watching them get used to the process and figuring this stuff out. I’d like to inspire people, I hope. Like I said, I was a bit of a different student myself, and so having this outlet, having a career in design or making, maybe even the trades.

It’s not really just about getting things done. It’s not just about deadlines. It’s not just about the next project. What you’re doing here is learning to learn—learning to efficiently take what you’re doing, take what you want to do, and be critical.

If I told myself back then that I’d be working in a school, moving my career toward education, I would have laughed in my own face. I’m still starting, still figuring things out, but this path seems good for now.