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Paul Boal, Clever Ghost

“Blick Studios proved to be the catalyst that helped drive our growth. Its affordable desk space meant that we could be situated in BT1 amongst other creative businesses located in the bustling Cathedral Quarter, opening up opportunities to collaborate. The central location meant we had access to loads of potential clients, were easily accessible and it opened us up to networks both internally through Blick and within Belfast. The hub that Blick has built to support businesses no matter what stage they’re at has been invaluable in terms of helping Clever Ghost grow and expand. They’re affordable, provide excellent facilities, great locations, support residents through networking, promotion and encourage their residents to get involved with events, workshops, or contribute to creative projects that they’re involved with. For anyone looking to start a business, we would highly recommend beginning that journey at Blick and for anyone who already is established then, Blick offers the chance to expand your network and become part of a growing creative community that is shaping Belfast and beyond.”

cleverghost.studio

Ciaran, Crude Studios

“Blick’s Hill Street Studios are a perfect setting for harnessing creativity and hatching new ideas alongside like-minded folk from all artistic backgrounds. Located smack-bang in the heart of the bustling Cathedral Quarter, inspiration is only ever a lunch-break away!”

crudestudios.com

Will, Architect

“I previously ran my architecture practice from home and since moving into Blick I have found that my productivity has increased significantly (probably doubled!). The facilities are great: The shared area, which I use for client meetings creates the right balance between creativity and professionalism, while the shared studio space is simple and functional while allowing for personalisation.”

thorntonarchitecturestudio.com

Karishma, Designer

“Being at Blick Studios has been a great experience for me as a designer. I have met many likeminded creative entrepreneurs and Christine and Rosy have done a lot to support local creative businesses through collaboration, events and their time.”

karishmasworld.com

Alex, Designer

“Blick’s Hill Street studios are bang in the middle of one of the most exciting and creative areas to be in. It’s a great space to be in, and full of like-minded people from all manner of disciplines which in itself creates all manner of opportunities.”

thefirst47.com

Ed, Alley Cats

“Blick is a great location, and an equally great office environment. Hill Street is at the happening heart of Belfast, the local bars and eateries offer a wide choice to take clients, and the office itself feels a well thought through creative space to be in. It is well run, with a light touch and enabling management style which still ensures that everything is done that needs to be. It is actually a joy to work in.”

alleycats.tv

Elena, Graphic Designer

“It has been a great experience moving into Blick. The space itself is fresh, vibrant, and in a really good area. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a work space within a creative community.”

elenamagliveras.com

Paul, tenx9

“Blick Studios on Hill Street was a fantastic place to be based. A wonderful creative, hard working atmosphere in a perfect city centre location with all the benefits that brings. The excellent facilities include strong wifi, clean kitchen, meeting areas and generous space for periods of downtime. A great team and a lovely vibe to the whole experience.”

tenx9.com

Katrina, Photographer

“A big thanks to you for everything. Was such a lovely place to work in, you’s are doing a great job, I would happily recommend Blick to others.”

Katrina's Website

Katherine, Illustrator

“It’s been a fantastic opportunity for me as a freelancer. Beforehand, I’d never fully settled on the idea of fully emerging myself as an Illustrator, but the desk space enabled me to focus all my ideas and get on with the work. I’ve gained commissions and made connections with other creatives I would never have otherwise and other opportunities have presented themselves in the process.”

LinkedIn

Patrick, Designer

“Blick looked like the perfect next step for our business and would give us a workspace in an entirely different part of town with new scenery and exciting businesses around us. The design-focused workshops and events made Blick look like the perfect fit for us, as Elixsr has good design principles at it’s core, being surrounded by people with the same passion screamed nothing but benefits to us.”

Paul, Illustrator

“So pleased to have discovered Blick Shared Studios and all they have to offer the creative industries – I couldn’t recommend them any higher.”

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Our next Creative Talk will be on Wednesday 5th February with a local creative sharing their story!

Speaker details coming soon!

Sign up now for your free ticket on our website (link in profile)!
2024 a year of change, travel, hard work and exciting new opportunities!

2024 really was a year of change for us at Blick, we left our first studios on the Malone Road after 15 years and moved to new premises on Great Northern Street just off the Lisburn Road in South Belfast. The move took up much of our time and energy, but looking back, ultimately2024 was a great year with the following being some of our best bits!

GREAT NORTHERN STREET STUDIOS
Moving from our Malone studios after 15 years was a physical and emotional challenge, but we love our new Great Northern Street Studios and are confident we will look back on the experience as a positive one in the future!

DESIGN YOUR LIFE PROJECT HONG KONG
Doing more international work to promote the creative industries in Northern Ireland to a global audience and to provide opportunities for local creatives was one of our goals for 2024. It was only a small project but in 2024 we were lucky to start that journey by getting the opportunity to work collaboratively with a Hong Kong illustrator to create a design installation for the British Council Hong Kong Spark Healthy Futures Festival in October called Design Your Life

CREATIVE TALKS
We had some amazing talks in 2024 with local creatives sharing their creative stories in our Blick Academy events i,cluding:
Alanna Mcdowell 
Paul Boal
Saul Duffin
Stephanie Heckman
We also hosted a really lovely Womenfolk Junior Senior event in June with artist and creative Nuala Convery aka Wee Nuls and Maja Szotkiewicz the,founder of Majakoo both sharing their creative journeys.

NURTURE INCUBATION PROGRAM
We very gratefully received funding from Belfast City Council for Nurture an incubation program, providing free workspace, mentoring and business support for 4 emerging creatives.

TRAVEL
In 2024 we went to Malmo Sweden, Hong Kong and Bologna Italy for creative Hubs research and projects, met some amazing people and learnt a lot that we hope to take forward into 2025!

At the start of this new year we are grateful as always to do the work we do with the people we do and to have the hard bits to look back on and learn from as well as the good bits!
As you wind down for Christmas, read this interview with @verahylands, an artist with a passion for Northern Ireland's woodlands and natural habitats. Vera is a participant on our Nurture programme and is hoping to build a creative brand that not only brings attention to the beauty of Northern Ireland’s nature but also actively advocates for its preservation.

We're off now for a wee break for Christmas 🎄 until 6th Jan! Thanks as always for your support this year and happy holidays everyone!
Find out a bit about Grainne co-founder of @kitschsistersbelfast and one of the participants on our Nurture Creative Incubation Program!
Find out a bit about Grainne co-founder of @kitschsistersbelfast and one of the participants on our Nurture Creative Incubation Program!
Our cosy Cotton Court studios in the Cathedral Quarter, where we currently have this lovely dedicated deskspace under the lightwell
available for £125 per calendar month all-inclusive

Email christine@blickstudios.org for more info or visit the Cotton Court page on our website (link in profile)
Another chance to find out a bit about Bethany Millican @bethanysmillican artist, illustrator and participant in our Nurture Creative Incubation Program. Bethany is hosting an exhibition as part of late Late Night Art East this Thursday 12th December, where she will be exhibiting some of her work at Boundary Taproom and selling some of her beautiful water illustration 2025 calendars. The perfect Christmas present! 

Read the full blog on our website blog ✨️ (link in profile)
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!
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
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/