Grow Your Own A Venturefolk x BDW Collab & Why We’re Getting Involved
We’re very excited to be hosting the final Grow Your Own Way workshop this Saturday in our Malone Studios. Grow Your Own Way is a collaborative project between VentureFolk and Belfast Design Week to bring together growers and designers to explore the potential for creating mini-gardens and a grow your own campaign to support people living and working within the Holylands and Botanic areas of Belfast to grow their own produce.
You just have to take a walk around our studios to know that we love plants at Blick. We love how they change the look and feel of a space. The benefits we feel they bring to our studios are huge. We feel that as well as being beautiful they instantly make you feel calmer and more grounded and there are so many wellness benefits from taking care of them. Anytime as a team we need to take a step back from a computer screen we go and spend some time tending the plants and feel so much better.
We don’t currently have any produce growing in our studios, as honestly we have never thought of it. But maybe we should? Wouldn’t it be great as an organisation if we could provide our community with not just the aesthetic and environmental benefits of having plants in our spaces, but also provide edible produce. We also have an empty front yard in our Malone studios that could do with a bit of love and could potentially become a space for growing things that are useful as well as beautiful.
We also believe in the power of designers and creatives to solve problems and come up with new ideas and new and better ways of doing things. Which is why when we were approached by VentureFolk with the idea of bringing together designers and growers to explore the potential for creating mini-gardens and a grow your own campaign to support people living and working within the Holylands and Botanic areas of Belfast to grow their own produce we jumped at the opportunity to get involved. The project is in its early stages, but has so much potential to be really exciting and transformative in an area of Belfast that really needs it. This Saturday’s workshop is all about big ideas and we would love as many different types of people, designers, creatives and community members to attend as possible, so we can start thinking big for our city and our own gardens!
Workshop #3 – GROW YOUR OWN DESIGNS
Exploring how we could design our own mini-gardens to add to our homes, businesses and communities and come up with some big ideas for a grow your own campaign to get people growing. This workshop will be hosted by local design expert Ian Pitt Me, Him & Her Design and the Belfast Design Week team. During the design process we will be investigating topics such as:
- What could our own mini-gardens within our homes look like and what could they be made of? Where could they sit within our homes
We will also start thinking about big ideas for mini-gardens for the Holylands and Botanic area, including topics such as
- What could the mini-gardens look like?
- What could they be made from?
- Where could they sit in the community?
- How could the mini-gardens be maintained within the community on a long term basis?
- How could the mini-gardens be used to improve the lives of people living and working in the Holylands and Botanic?
- How could the mini-gardens improve the appearance of the Holylands and Botanic for residents, workers and visitors?
- How can we inspire the people and businesses within the Holylands and Botanic to get involved with the project?
- How can we encourage the people and businesses within the Holylands and Botanic to have a go at growing their own food
- How can we communicate the many physical, mental and environmental benefits of growing your own food to the people of the Holylands and Botanic
Date: Saturday 24th June
Time: 11am – 1pm
Venue: Blick Shared Studios, 51 Malone Road, Belfast. BT9 6RY
Booking Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/grow-your-own-way-summer-workshops-tickets-639265689887
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Stéphanie Heckman, a graphic recorder and visual communicator and one of our Hill St residents, gave a wonderful talk earlier this month. Sharing her creative journey with her business and some tips and insights for other creatives starting their own creative business in NI! Here are some of the key lessons I took from Stéphanie`s talk. I am definitely going to try and be more strategic in 2025 and more bold and brave and think about how I talk about myself and Blick to myself and in public!
Dec 2
Great few days of learning and reflection at `Bautopia 5 Culture and Creativity Conference on Ecological and Financial Sustainability in the creative and cultural sectors` in Bologna! Now off to Venice for a weekend of fun!
Nov 29
In beautiful Bologna for Bautopia 5 Culture and Creativity Conference on Ecological and Financial Sustainability in the creative and cultural sectors. Looking forward to meeting lots of interesting people and getting lots of new knowledge and tips on making our activities and studios more sustainable going forward!
Nov 27
To finish up our finance resources for emerging creatives, we thought we would put together some techniques we have used to manage our costs at Blick over the years!
Read the full blog on our website (link below or in bio)
https://blickstudios.org/blog/managing-your-creative-businesss-finances/
Nov 27
Finally we remembered to get a group photo at our weekly Nurture Program catch-up! Thanks @verahylands for the reminder! I am loving getting to work with these brilliant creatives each week and am looking forward to sharing more about them and their creative ideas on our website and socials in coming weeks!
In the meantime, here`s a quick introduction!
@makeitfashion.bt - local sustainable emerging fashion brand
@verahylands - a super talented artist with a mission to support NI woodlands through her work
@bethanysmillican - an illustrator, currently working on her first solo exhibition for December Late Night Art East and an accompanying calendar of beautiful water themed works
@kitschsistersbelfast - crafty and creative events company. Currently working on organising a Winter Solstice Supper Club for Saturday 14th December
Nov 25
Downloadable cashflow forecast template! Similar to a budget, a cashflow forecast helps you to plan ahead for your creative business it will show you if you will have enough cash to run the business or expand it. It will also show you when more cash is going out of the business than in. We have included a downloadable Excel template linked to the budget template to make it simple for you to get started with putting together your own cashflow forecast for your creative business. Link below or in profile
https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/
Nov 22
Today`s finance resource for emerging creatives is a budget template that you can download from our website as an excel document and complete for your creative business. �Putting together a budget for your creative business will help you to understand your costs, plan out your expenses and reach your goals. It`s also not as complicated as it seems, we have included a downloadable excel budget template on the resources section of our website to help you to put one together for your business (link in our bio or below):
��https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/
Nov 20
�Today for our finance resources for emerging creatives we are sharing what you need to include on an invoice, something that seems obvious, but really isn`t when you are starting out!
�You can download an invoice template as a word or PDF document from the `Resources for Creatives` section of our website (link in bio or below) that you can then customise for your creative business!
��https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/
Nov 19
After a hectic few months, we are back to sharing out useful resources for creatives starting their own business/ practice.
This week we will be sharing some different financial resources. Starting today with some useful financial links for creatives starting their own business
Let us know if you can think of any we have forgotton or anything that was helpful to you when starting out that we can add to the list!
HMRC what does it mean to be self-employed? – https://www.gov.uk/working-for-yourself
Registering as self-employed – https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader
Registering for VAT if your turnover exceeds £85,000 – https://www.gov.uk/vat-registration/when-to-register
Link to a cashflow template – https://www.startuploans.co.uk/cash-flow-forecast-template/
HMRC free payroll software – https://www.gov.uk/basic-paye-tools
View on our website link in bio or
https://blickstudios.org/resources/useful-finance-resources-links/
Nov 18
We have 1 dedicated deskspace coming available in our Hill St studios from the start of December!
- £165 per calendar month all inclusive (rent, rates, utilities,
broadband etc)
- 3 months minimum contract then on a month by month basis
- 24 hour access
- City centre location
Email christine@blickstudios.org for more info or to arrange a viewing or visit our website:
https://blickstudios.org/locations/hill-street-belfast/
Nov 15
Thanks again to everyone who came along to @stephaniesaloli`s creative talk last Wednesday evening and to Stephanie for giving such a great talk with so many insights and lessons for emerging creatives, as always we will be doing a wee event write up over coming weeks of the key lessons!
Nov 14
This week we have been thrilled to have been able to help with @belfastdesignwk and @the_design_salon `s Sustainable Pop-up Design Museum as part of the RE(act) Festival by the @linenquarter in the Europa Hotel today and tomorrow!
If you are attending any events at the festival or just passing by you can pop by to take a look at the Pop-up Design Museum on the 2nd floor!
The Pop-up Design Museum feature 5 local designers incorporating sustainability into their work
- Sam Lynas Co-founder of @get.haru @helpandreuse a tech startup focused on circular fashion
- Azhar Murtuza Founder of @born_maverick a food innovation company
- Stéphanie Heckman @stephaniesaloli a graphic recorder and visual facilitator focusing on working on climate and sustainability events
- Lee Robb founder of Positive Carrickfergus and Co-founder of Carrick Greengrocers @carrickgrocers
- Emily McIlwaine @emtextiles Woven Designer and Horticulturalist
You can also read fab interviews with each of them on sustainability and their design practice over on the Belfast Design Week Website www.belfastdesignweek.com
Nov 12
Thanks to everyone who joined us last Wednesday evening for our final creative talk of the year with the wonderful Stephanie Heckman sharing her creative story!
Nov 11
We are so excited through our @the_design_salon collab as part of the �@linenquarter `s �RE[act] Festival 2024 to have Learning Experience Designer Peter Worth join us for a workshop on November 13th, 3-4.30pm in the Europa Hotel.
Peter works at the intersection of design thinking, professional learning, leadership, and culture change. Consulting globally and based in Northern Ireland, Peter’s work focuses on helping teams to elevate local brilliance and use the mindsets of human-centred design to create change so their users can thrive. In recent years, he has worked closely with the Stanford d.school and Catalyst.
Informed by his background in education, Peter has developed a design practice that balances analytical and creative problem-solving. His belief that great progress can be made by taking the time to listen first has positioned him to guide people through their initial discomfort with design to discover skills they did not know they had and to help educators recognize their power in the transformation of schools as a part of a larger story of impact. In addition, Peter works with K12 schools, universities, businesses, and non-profit organizations to promote local innovation.
Spaces are limited so find out more and grab your free ticket on the events page on our website (link in profile)!
Nov 8
## NEW SOUTH BELFAST STUDIOS ##
We have recently moved our South Belfast Studios and our new studios at 65 Great Northern Street are now open!
Located off the Lisburn Road in a great location with lots of natural light it offers a mix of private and shared studio space.
We only have a couple of dedicated desks left, if you would like more information or to arrange a viewing please get in touch with christine@blickstudios.org or visit our website (link in profile)
Nov 6
Pollen Studios + Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of “Palette Perspectives” by Blick resident Emanuela Mae Agrini @emanuela_mae_agrini_art
The event will take place on November 7, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at Pollen’s gallery space located at 7 North Street, Belfast. As part of the Belfast Late Night Art event, this evening will showcase a collection of portrait paintings and fashion illustrations, exploring creativity and individual expression through various subjects and styles.
Nov 5
Last chance to book for tomorrow night`s creative talk with Blick Hill St resident Stephanie Heckman sharing her creative story as a graphic recorder and visual facilitator who translates real-time conversations into hand-drawn visual summaries at events and conferences globally including UN climate change negotiations!
Book through our website (link in profile) 🌟 🌟 🌟
Nov 5
Another chance to check out the interview we did with Stephanie @stephaniesaloli who is sharing her story at our next Creative Talk on Wednesday evening!
Sign up on our website to hear her story in-person!
Nov 4
Ahead of her creative talk next Wednesday evening we thought we would re-share this interview we did with Stéphanie Heckman one of our Hill St residents earlier this year! You can read the full blog on our website (link in profile)
Stephanie will be sharing her creative story next Wednesday 6th November at 7pm in our Hill St studios, you can sign up for your free ticket to hear her story on our website (link in profile)
Nov 1
Just 1 week until our next creative talk with Blick Hill St resident Stephanie Heckman sharing her creative story as a graphic recorder and visual facilitator who translates real-time conversations into hand-drawn visual summaries at events and conferences globally including UN climate change negotiations!
Book your free ticket through our website (link in profile)
Oct 30
