When Kerone first visited Cosprop in 2019 through an AFK employer visit, he noticed that the company’s large collection of shoes needed cleaning and polishing. He pointed it out, and not long afterwards Cosprop employed him to do just that.

It was a simple observation, but an important one. Kerone had identified a job that genuinely needed doing, and one of his colleagues, Katie – the manager of the women’s department, still remembers it clearly: “You identified the issue. You created the job for yourself.”

Cosprop makes and hires period costume for film, television, and theatre from its base on Holloway Road. The shopfront gives little indication of the scale of what sits behind it, with a vast collection of clothing, shoes and accessories stored across several departments, covering different periods and regularly being prepared for fittings and productions.

Looking after that amount of stock is an ongoing job, and Kerone’s original role meant Cosprop had someone who could take responsibility for an area of the collection that needed more attention. Katie describes having somebody dedicated to the shoes as “super valuable”, adding that the stock became “better than it’s ever been”.

Kerone came to Cosprop in 2019 through AFK’s Employment and Skills programme, which supports disabled and neurodiverse young people to build their confidence, develop practical skills and gain experience of work, with the aim of helping them move into paid employment. Employer visits are part of that, giving young people the chance to experience workplaces first-hand, speak to the people who work there, and get a better idea of the roles that might suit them.

For Kerone, that visit led to a job which has now lasted over seven years, making him AFK’s longest continually employed young person with the same employer. Over that time, his role has developed considerably, partly because Kerone has learnt new skills, but also because Cosprop has been willing to change his role as his interests and abilities have developed.

Eventually cleaning and polishing shoes became too repetitive and Kerone began to lose interest in it. His colleagues recognised this and started looking at other areas where he could help, rather than expecting him to remain in the same role he had started in.

“You were only doing the shoes before and it was getting monotonous,” says Katie. “That’s why we realised it’s important for you, and for us, to give you a range of stuff to do.” Katie added.

Kerone still returns to the shoes when they need attention, but his working week now covers a much broader range of tasks, including organising stock, pairing gloves and other accessories, helping colleagues move costumes around the building and working on washing, pressing and preparing garments. He has also been able to try different areas of work over the years and work out what he does and does not enjoy.

Ironing has been a very different story; describing the work simply as ironing does not really reflect what is involved. Cosprop’s collection includes period garments made from a wide range of fabrics and materials, some of them delicate and some of them old, which need to be washed and pressed carefully before going back into stock, into a fitting, or out to a production. Different garments need different temperatures and settings, and Kerone has learnt how to adjust the equipment according to what he is working with.

That is a considerable change from when he first arrived at Cosprop: “When he first came here, he never ironed anything. Never mind a delicate piece of costume.” Explains Sam, the Head of Stock Maintenance, and Kerone’s manager.

Kerone now works through a significant volume of costumes and has reached the point where his colleagues are happy to trust him with garments that need to be prepared to a professional standard. “I can completely trust Kerone to prepare it to such a standard that you can hand it to an actor,” says Sam.

The work has also become valuable to Cosprop in its own right. Katie says having somebody who can take responsibility for washing and pressing garments has made a “huge difference”, particularly because this was not something the company had previously had the capacity to do in the same way. Customers have also noticed the difference, commenting on how good items look after they have been washed and pressed.

“It’s not something we ever had before. But now we’ve got it. It’s like a game changer,” adds Katie.

Kerone’s height and strength have also become an asset at Cosprop. Period costumes can be quite heavy, particularly when large quantities of it need to be moved around the building or reorganised in storage, and Kerone’s height and strength have become useful to colleagues who regularly have to shift stock from one area to another.

When Sam mentioned during the interview that somebody has to move a lot of stock, one colleague pointed out how much Kerone helps her with the physical side of work. Kerone, who goes to the gym several times a week, is fairly matter-of-fact about the reason he is able to help: “I go gym a lot.”

We don’t necessarily need to blend in. We just need to be ourselves.

Kerone has built strong relationships with the people  he works with at Cosprop. The conversation regularly moves between work, films, music and what Kerone is doing outside of work, with colleagues joking with him, reminding him of things he has done and offering advice about what he might want to do next.

Cosprop was not Kerone’s first experience of work. Before joining the company, he had worked in a butcher’s shop, although he is noticeably less enthusiastic about discussing that particular job and, when it comes up during the interview, says simply: “I don’t want to go into detail.” By comparison, he describes Cosprop as one of the best jobs he has had.

Whilst Kerone is now a confident and outgoing member of the team, he spoke openly about how different things felt when he first started at Cosprop. As an autistic person entering a new workplace, he was not only learning the job itself, but also getting to know the people around him and working out where he fitted within an established team. He remembers being nervous, not knowing who to speak to and wondering how he was going to “blend in”, before being encouraged to focus less on fitting a particular mould and more on being himself.

That prompted a frank discussion about the idea of needing to blend in at work, particularly for an autistic person entering a new environment. Dan Sycamore, an Employment Broker at AFK, said: “We don’t necessarily need to blend in. We just need to be ourselves. And find where we fit really, and find a balance,” adding that, over time, people find their own space within a workplace, including the colleagues they feel comfortable talking to and asking for help.

Starting any new job can take time to get used to, particularly when you are learning new routines, getting to know colleagues and finding where you fit within a team. One of Kerone’s colleagues, Chris, who has worked at Cosprop for 14 years, describes it as a creative workplace where “people do look after each other”, and Kerone’s experience over the past seven years reflects that sense of support and familiarity.

Kerone describes the past seven years as having had “ups and downs” and talks about the advice he has received from colleagues including Sam and Chris, which he credits with helping him through some of the more difficult periods. He also says that working at Cosprop has helped him build confidence and learn perseverance, while his colleagues have seen him become more comfortable in the workplace and take on more responsibility.

As his experience has grown, Kerone has started looking at other areas of Cosprop which he might eventually like to move into. One of those is working more directly with costumes, including fittings and helping select the different pieces needed to put together an outfit from a particular period.

Kerone is interested in doing more of that work, but is also realistic about how much he still has to learn. When the possibility comes up in the interview, he says: “I’m not ready for that step.”

His colleagues explain that working at that level involves much more than knowing which clothes look good together. Cosprop’s staff need a detailed understanding of different historical periods, the garments associated with them and how complete outfits should be assembled, particularly when preparing for a fitting.

“You’ve got to get the books out and learn the periods,” Katie tells him, adding that it takes “a lot of reading, a lot of research”.

Kerone talks about wanting to learn more, asking questions about the periods represented within the collection and the skills he would need if he wanted to move further into costume work in future.

Kerone’s ambitions are not limited to Cosprop. Kerone has started thinking about setting up an ironing service of his own, using the skills he has developed at Cosprop. Before joining the company, he had never ironed. Now, after several years handling and pressing period costume, he knows how to use specialist equipment and adapt his approach to different garments.

That has also been reflected in the way his role at Cosprop has developed since 2019. When the shoe work became repetitive, his colleagues found other areas for him to try. As he became more confident with washing and pressing, he was trusted with more complicated garments, while his strength has become useful when stock needs moving and his growing knowledge of the collection has opened up the possibility of taking on more costume-related work in future.

The value of Kerone’s work is clear in the way his colleagues talk about the practical difference he makes. The shoe stock is better maintained, garments can be washed and pressed before returning to the collection or heading out to a production, heavy items can be moved more easily and Kerone can help across different areas when another pair of hands is needed.

Kerone describes what he enjoys about the role in equally practical terms: “I just enjoy helping everyone else out there as well,” he says. “I enjoy the journey.”

Nearly seven years after his first visit to Cosprop, Kerone is still part of the team, with a role that has grown well beyond the shoe polishing job he first created for himself and a range of skills that are already giving him ideas about what he might want to do next.