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Womenfolk is all about inspiring and supporting women in Northern Ireland to have the courage and confidence to follow their creative dreams by providing opportunities for them to come together to connect, inspire, share knowledge and support each other.

 

Womenfolk Peer Mentoring Group

It’s very simple, but also very effective. On the last Tuesday of each month we host a get together with a small group of self-employed creative women or women in the process of starting a creative business to chat about business and life. Each person will get the chance to speak. Sharing their monthly progress, plans for the following month, future goals and aspirations as well as any challenges they may be facing. This process gives you the opportunity to connect with and learn from like-minded creative women and helps with motivation, accountability, goal setting and planning.

There is no cost to joining the group, but to ensure commitment and suitability participants need to fill in a short online registration to secure a space.

Fill in the registration form below or if you have any questions about the group email christine@blickstudios.org

For other upcoming Womenfolk events please check out our events page

Register Here
Womenfolk Networking Event

Aims and Objectives

 

To inspire and support women in Northern Ireland to have the courage and confidence to follow their creative dreams

 

To provide opportunities for creative women to come together to connect, inspire, share knowledge and support each other

 

To showcase and highlight current successful creative women as role models

The Womenfolk Story

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Set up in 2017, Womenfolk is a project by Blick Shared Studios and one close to our hearts as Blick is an organisation founded and run by women. At Blick we host a variety of creative industry support and networking events and generally have more women than men in the audience, but sadly don’t see that translated into women-led businesses using our workspace.

OUR AIM FOR WOMENFOLK

To provide support, community and peer learning opportunities to empower more creative women with a passion for running their own business to make their dreams a reality.

HOW DO WE DO THIS

We offer opportunities for meeting and learning from other like-minded creative women at our events and workshops and through our online content, creative enterprise and mentoring programs.

OUR JOURNEY SO FAR

Since 2017 we have been involved in a number of different events and programmes including producing our first publication in 2019 which shares a selection of interviews with Northern Irish women designers. In 2020-21 we ran a creative enterprise programme for young women called Dig Deep which supported 27 young women over a 9-month period to start their own creative businesses. Over the years we have also hosted lots of different events, workshops and panel discussions as well as regular peer mentoring groups to give women creatives who run their own business or want to run their own business an opportunity to get together and learn from each other.

Audience at International Women's Day Event

Industry Expert Videos

A series of industry expert videos created for Womenfolk

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Cotton Court is a converted Cotton Mill. Throughout the 18 and early 19th Century, Belfast was a landmark city for the textile industries of Linen and Cotton. By 1804 there were 27,000 people in Northern Ireland being employed in cotton mills, one of which was Cotton Court. Cotton Court is our smallest studios, making it a more cosy and intimate space, we have eight desk spaces and four private offices in our Cotton Court studios! It is also our most affordable space with dedicated deskspaces costing just £130 per calendar month all inclusive!

Cotton Court is part of a managed workspace building, which operates in the Cathedral Quarter with a focus on not-for-profit organisations from the Arts, Cultural & Community Sector. Other businesses who reside in Cotton Court include Belfast Print Workshop, Destination CQ and Young at Art!

As well as the industrial interiors and creative feel of the building it has an amazing location in the Cathedral Quarter right opposite the main entrance to the Merchant Hotel on Waring Street!

You can find out more about our Cotton Court studios and any available workspace on our website: https://blickstudios.org/locations/cotton-court-belfast/
Our cosy and creative Cotton Court studios in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter, we have a dedicated deskspace coming available soon for £130 per calendar month all inclusive! Visit the Cotton Court page of our website (link in profile) or get in touch by emailling christine@blickstudios.org for more info
Here's where you can find our Cotton Court studios in the Cathedral Quarter on Waring Street (right opposite the gorgeous Merchant Hotel) in the same building as Belfast Print Workshop, Young at Art and more

 https://blickstudios.org/locations/cotton-court-belfast/
Our beautiful Hill St studios. Hill St is a lovely cobbled street right in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter there are lots of arts and cultural organisations as well as bars and coffee shops and of course the art college nearby!

Our studios are based in an historic loft building, complete with original beams and pulley system! It has high ceilings a lovely wooden floor and lots of light and plants of course!

Our Hill St studios can also be used as a virtual office for creatives who want a professional city centre address for their business.

You can find more information on our Hill St studios and available workspace on our website: https://blickstudios.org/locations/hill-street-belfast/
Our beautiful Hill Street Studios breakout space!

https://blickstudios.org/locations/hill-street-belfast/
Here's where you can find our Hill Street Studios in the Cathedral Quarter, tucked away on the second floor above Sort Design!
Our third and final writeup sharing insights from the Retail Ready Fieldtrip for Ulster University Enterprise Placement Year Students we hosted in October 2025.

We previously shared some of our best insights from the day from Linzi and Emma, today we are sharing those from Rachel McIlgorm founder of Story Box NI a community interest initiative seeking to support and raise awareness of local businesses and social enterprises.

01. Email and introduce yourself. Rachel suggested for retailers such as hers which are social enterprises and interested in the ethics of their suppliers you should send an email and introduce yourself and share your story and why your product would fit their shop.

02. Invest in good quality images of your products.

03. Make sure you know your pricing. Account for retailers margins and include details of your pricing when contacting retailers.

04. Don’t be afraid to follow up if you don’t get a response from a retailer.

05. Use your story to market your product. Make your story personal and use it throughout your marketing and branding to differentiate your product.
- - OUR STUDIOS - -

When we started Blick back in 2008, our ambition was to create beautiful but affordable spaces in great locations in Belfast for creatives to work in productively and creatively alongside other like-minded creatives.

We started with just one building, our Malone Studios in South Belfast, then took on two others in the Cathedral Quarter, our Hill Street studios and Cotton Court studios. In 2024 we had to leave our beautiful Malone studios, but were super fortunate to find our gorgeous new Great Northern Street studios instead. All our studios provide a mix of private studio spaces and shared workspace with dedicated desks and storage.

- - HILL ST - - 

Our Hill St studios are our biggest providing workspace to over 25 creatives within an open plan loft space with high ceilings and original features close to Belfast School of Art right in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter. Our Hill St studios can also be used as a virtual office for creatives who want a professional city centre address for their business.

- - COTTON COURT - -

Our Cotton Court studios are our most affordable studios providing both shared and private workspace to over 10 creatives in a building full of different creatives in the Cathedral Quarter.

- - GREAT NORTHERN STREET - - 

Our Great Northern Street studios provide shared and private workspace to over 15 creatives and are located just off the Lisburn Road in a modern glass fronted building nestled between traditional red brick Belfast terrace houses.

Our spaces all offer dedicated desks with storage or private studio space with prices from £130 per month. All our prices include rent, rates, utilities and broadband. Our spaces are all designed to be professional, but welcoming creative environments.

Taking a space at Blick is more than just a physical space; it's about meeting and working alongside like-minded people, collaborating, learning, and sharing experiences. We have small 1-2 person private studios coming available in both our Cotton Court and Great Northern Street studio, visit our website or get in touch for more info:

https://blickstudios.org/