Aardman Animations is the latest brand to join the speaker line up at the Digital Gaggle conference, taking place at Bristol’s Watershed Cinema on Thursday 28th October.
Gavin Strange, Director & Designer at Aardman Animations, will kickstart the conference with his session titled ‘Trying To Get Ahead Before We Get A Headstone’.
In this GIF-filled talk, Gavin will share his tips for finding the time, inspiration and energy for creativity. He’ll also move around quite vigorously and gesticulate wildly the whole time. It’ll be loud, silly and hopefully energising.
Gavin joins an already stellar lineup with speakers from brands including LinkedIn and Caring in Bristol on the bill for the digital marketing event.
This is the 12th Digital Gaggle conference, organised by digital marketing agency Noisy Little Monkey and supported by t&s creative communications, Somerset Design, and Launch Online.
The purpose of the event is to provide professional marketers with the skills and inspiration they need to improve their digital marketing strategy; fueling them with the knowledge and creative fire to make sure that their online activity has an impact on the bottom line of their business.
Sessions at the next event will cover a variety of topics, including: content strategy, SEO, crisis comms, conversion rate optimisation and creativity. The content of the talks at Digital Gaggle are best suited for marketers working in B2B, Professional Services or eCommerce industries. But all are welcome!
The conference is being run both in-person and online and ticket prices vary depending on how you choose to experience the event.
For more information about the conference and talks, visit the link below.
https://www.digitalgaggle.co.uk/conference/digital-gaggle-october-2021/
The Social Mobility Commission (SEC) has launched a new sector-specific toolkit to encourage socio-economic diversity and inclusion in the creative sector workforce.
It aims to widen access to the creative industries for people from working class backgrounds in an attempt to tackle a “class crisis” in the sector.
The socio-economic diversity and inclusion: toolkit for the creative industries, developed by the Social Mobility Commission in partnership with creative industries businesses, offers practical support and guidance to creative employers on how to identify and remove invisible barriers that arise at every stage of the employee journey.
According to new research, just 27% of the creative industries workforce comes from a working class background, compared with 39% of the wider UK workforce. For the advertising and marketing and music and performing arts sub-sectors, the percentage of the workforce from a working class background falls to just 23%.
The SEC said that “the unique structures of the creative industries workforce are driving this imbalance, with factors including the high numbers of ‘professional’ jobs within the sector, an entrenched reliance on freelance workers as well as an abundance of unpaid internships creating additional barriers to entry for those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
“Disproportionate numbers of those in senior roles who attended private school or Oxbridge may also have served to perpetuate understandings of cultural ‘fit’ and accepted behavioural codes within the creative industries, presenting an additional barrier to those from low socio-economic backgrounds.”
Those who have contributed or endorsed the toolkit include the BBC, BFI, UK Screen Alliance, Youth Music British Fashion Council, Museums Association, British Institute of Interior Design and the Publishers Association.
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said:
“A working class background should never be a barrier to a successful career in the creative Industries. We want to increase access to opportunities across the board as part of our plan to level up. This new toolkit will help support creative firms become more inclusive and give people the chance to forge a successful career in these exciting sectors.”
Caroline Norbury, CEO at Creative Industries Federation, said:
“If creativity is to shape a better future for all, then it has to reflect the diversity and breadth of experience found across the country. Ensuring opportunities exist for creative individuals to thrive, no matter their background, is an important step towards achieving this. The Social Mobility Commission’s toolkit is a critical resource for addressing the unacceptable imbalance of socio-economic backgrounds found in the UK’s creative industries.”
Farrah Storr, social mobility commissioner and editor-in-chief at Elle UK, said:
“It’s been great to see so many within the industry collaborate on the development of this toolkit. For the whole creative sector to remain vibrant, it is vital that we tap into the full potential of the whole population, not just a privileged few.
“The creative industries create the culture of the nation, which in turn necessitates full participation from the entire nation. As organisations adopt the actions set out within this toolkit to make socio-economic inclusion a reality, we will become an industry that is both rich in diverse viewpoints, experiences and stories as well as an industry that is built to last.”
Heather Carey from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and Work Advance said:
“As we rebuild following the Covid-19 pandemic, it is vital that we widen access to opportunities created in high-growth, high-skill parts of the UK economy, like the Creative Industries. Our research provides definitive evidence on the causes of class imbalances and sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging programme of change to enhance social mobility into the Creative Economy. Government and Industry must seize this moment, as we emerge from an unprecedented crisis, to address the long-standing inequalities in the Creative sector and to grasp the potential offered by diverse talent in the UK to cement our creative excellence and competitive advantage, globally.”
The Social Mobility Commission is hosting a public launch event on Monday 11 October, chaired by Farrah Storr, SMC commissioner and editor-in-chief of Elle, and featuring a discussion with industry insiders: Jamie Gill, CEO of ROKSANDA and executive board, British Fashion Council; Della Hill, creative lead at Literature Wales and Emily Jones, senior producer at Sage Gateshead. Register for the event at SocialMobilityWorks.org
Heather Carey will present the findings of PEC’s new research report: Social mobility in the creative economy: Rebuilding and levelling up?
Bristol Technology Festival (BTF) has unveiled a packed schedule for its tech showcase event, taking place during the week of October 11-15.
Now into its third edition, BTF is an annual celebration designed to bring together events, people and communities to share, learn and explore technology developments in the southwest region. Events will encompass a range of sectors from green and sustainable technology to legal and finance.
This year’s schedule includes a number of highly anticipated events, of which there are more than 50 spread across five packed days.
The theme which wraps around many of the events through the week is ‘changing the face of tech’, with the emphasis on taking tangible action beyond simply talking about a lack of diversity and inclusion. As well as demonstrating the best of what the area’s tech space has to offer, BTF 2021 aims to bring together like-minded organisations ready to inspire wide-reaching change.
It is not too late to get involved. For individuals and organisations interested in attending or hosting an event, there is still time to book tickets and submit proposals.
Softcat headlines busy BTF 2021
BTF 2021 would like to thank Headline Partner Softcat for its indispensable support of BTF 2021.
Looking ahead to the event, Rob Parkinson, CIO at Softcat, commented: “We are delighted to be involved in the 2021 Bristol Technology Festival. Bringing together local technology communities and shining a light on all the innovation the region has to showcase is an important way to drive collaboration and industry growth.
“The last 18 months have been tough for many industries, but technology has come through as an enabler and has made many re-think how they interact and do business. As the impact of technology continues to grow, forums like the Bristol Technology Festival have never been more important and we are pleased to be supporting it.”
Event organisers are also grateful to Deloitte for sponsoring the Bristol Technology Festival Launch Event, on Thursday October 7 which will be held at Engine Shed.
Here, the exclusive launch evening will be a chance for senior leaders and technology influencers from across the region to network, share ideas and see each other in person, with speaker contributions coming from the likes of Moneyhub, Deloitte and Softcat.
Changing the face of tech
Among the many highlights of this year’s festival is a fireside keynote chat with Antonia Forster.
Antonia is a Unity/C# games and software developer, specialising in immersive experiences such as AR, VR and XR. In 2017, her record-breaking TEDxBristol talk was delivered to a live audience of 2,000 people and has since gained over 92,000 views online.
A year later, Antonia was nominated and shortlisted for Nature’s John Maddox Prize, in recognition of her work as an LGBTQ+ speaker and activist. She has also been named one of Bristol’s Top Nine “Women to Watch” in STEM, and has appeared in numerous magazine, radio and television features.
The talk with Antonia is scheduled for Monday October 11th, 12:00-14:00, at Engine Shed.
It is expected to be one of many events held throughout the week that inspire both more women to pursue careers in the tech sector, and organisations to provide greater opportunities and promote diversity.
What else to expect at BTF 2021
Diversity is the name of the game when it comes to the group of volunteers helping to coordinate the festival.
Among them are representatives from Hargreaves Lansdown, Newicon, TechSPARK, and Engine Shed, with events throughout BTF being crowdsourced from organisations across the city of Bristol.
These include tech companies, public bodies, schools, community interest groups and charities, with events open to a huge variety of guests – from tech professionals and businesses to individuals wanting to know more about the area’s digital industries.
Between them, a huge variety of discussions and other activities will be open to attendees:
This year’s Bristol Technology Festival will also witness the launch of the Festival Community Partner initiative. Here, businesses have the opportunity to become one of 50 community partners, with all funds invested helping to secure the long-term future of the festival.
For more information and to view the schedule for BTF 2021, visit www.bristoltechfest.org
To submit an event proposal, complete the form here.
Join us on Thursday 21st October for a lunchtime Keynote with marketing veteran Anne Thistleton.
We all know that our mind governs the way we see, understand and interact with the world. But until recently we didn’t know how we actually processed all of the incoming data to make sense of the world. Instead, we learned to accept the fact that sometimes we made useful connections and sometimes not.
With the invention of brain scanners in the 1980s and their extensive use for that past several decades, experts have now gained insight into how our mind truly works, how we process information and how we make decisions. Consequently, new marketing concepts from Neuroscience, Behavioural Economics, Neuromarketing, etc. are becoming plentiful. And books, articles, videos, talks, blogs, even neuromarketing consulting and research companies abound. But very few are explaining the basics in simple terms, and very few are clear on the implications for us. What should I do tomorrow to apply this new knowledge to deliver better impact and results for my clients?
Tickets are priced at £30+VAT for BCI members and £45+VAT for non-members.
Anne Thistleton is the Founding Partner of LIGHT Consulting and has spent over twenty years as a Marketing Practitioner in the field of Mind Science. While leading strategy for The Coca-Cola Company in South Africa, she pioneered this work to first re-vitalise relationships (and the business) in the South Africa townships then to provide the foundation to the Open Happiness campaign. Since then, she has worked across the world and across industries, developing specific marketing-focused Mind Science applications, and then testing and improving them with multi-national companies, advertising agencies, foundations, even political parties.
Over the years, Anne has worked with many of the world’s leading cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists and behavioural economists all focused on what does it mean to marketers and creatives, and how can we apply it now. By using her expansive marketing experience, she has been able to identify and make practical the most relevant and valuable aspects of Mind Science for consumer and B2B marketers.
Book your ticket to the event with Anne Thistleton here.
Workforces in the creative industries are at risk of becoming more unequal unless efforts are made to improve diversity and inclusion.
That’s the warning by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity following an 18-month research project with King’s College London and the University of Edinburgh.
The resulting report, Creative Majority, publishes a framework of five guiding principles which it says will lead to immediate and long-lasting change. It also makes a series of recommendations to the government and businesses.
The UK’s creative industries remain unrepresentative of the population as a whole, the report says.
Straight, able-bodied, white men living in London are only 3.5% of the UK population, it highlights, but “this small minority still dominates the creative sector, and in particular occupy a vast number of the most senior creative roles”.
Chi Onwurah MP, co-chair of the APPG for Creative Diversity, said the coronavirus pandemic has deepened this issue with fewer creative organisations and job opportunities for diverse talent.
Disabled people, younger workers, those not engaged in higher education and mothers are among the employees hardest hit by the pandemic. Individuals from a minoritised racial group have also been hit hard. Employment in the arts and entertainment sectors for women in those groups has fallen by 44%, more than any other group in any industry.
“Without action, we risk exacerbating inequalities further in the creative industries and an entire generation of talent – the future of the sector – could be lost,” Onwurah warned.
As part of the research, roundtables were conducted to gather evidence about diversity and inclusion in the creative industries. Among those participating were Sam Friedman, associate professor of sociology at London School of Economics and commissioner at the Social Mobility Commission, who said:
“In most of these industries there’s a kind of historical legacy of who’s done this kind of work in the past and how they’ve been able to embed, even institutionalise, their own ways of being that still, in the present, are able to shape taken-for-granted ideas about who is appropriate to promote and progress, and that’s basically the legacy of white, privileged men in this country in almost every elite industry.
“What’s being valued is a misrecognition of merit that tilts in favour of behavioural codes and forms of self-presentation that dominant groups and yes, people from privileged backgrounds but also this is hugely racialised and gendered, around acceptable ways of being in the workplace.”
Robert Adediran, EDI consultant and former executive director at London Music Masters, said:
“There’s a strong sense that everyone who is at the top is there because they are the best people for the role and that’s very damaging because it prevents us from looking for talent elsewhere.
“In music, particularly classical, there’s a sense that the art form has reached a pinnacle, that it could not possibly get any better than it already is. Again, that is very dangerous because it robs one of the key drivers for diversity and inclusion, which is to make the art form better. There isn’t the drive to bring new people in to change things and to push a more creative output or a better creative output.”
Miranda Wayland, BBC head of creative diversity, said:
“We can’t really be effective until we tackle the question of what ‘good’ really looks like. I can sit here and come up with different metrics about how diversity of thought and diversity of inclusion in our recruitment practices are really at the heart of it, but if those people who are making decisions aren’t really thinking about what good looks like, no initiative, no scheme, no target that we’ve all been imbedded in supporting over the last 10, 15, 30 years, is going to make a difference.
“We need to break the illusion that ‘good’ only comes in a certain package, from a certain background, with a certain title and a certain destination.”
The report said the creative industries have many lessons to learn from how society has adapted to big changes in the way people work.
Working from home, collaborating remotely and new safety measures show that “change, on a massive scale, is possible in a short time frame”, the report said. “The same momentum now needs to be applied to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).”
The report publishes five principles as a framework for good and effective practice that it says should act as benchmarks for anyone wanting to see results in EDI.
The five principles are:
Read more detail about the framework in the full report.
The report also makes a series of recommendations to policymakers and creative organisations.
It says: “This report represents a challenge and represents a demand. It offers a chance for policymakers, along with organisations and businesses, to step up and to lead.
“We need bold and visionary leadership to support diversity in the creative economy. As our report shows, the challenges are great. Yet, bold and visionary leadership will reap the rewards of a diverse workforce and audience. It is a challenge to which we need policymakers to rise.”
The recommendations to government include:
The recommendations to creative industry businesses and organisations include:
This event is a practical series of five virtual sessions to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion (D&I) efforts. It will help you make sense of what D&I means for your business, why it matters, and how to turn the conversation into action. You’ll get insights, tools and techniques to help you overcome any fears and obstacles, before starting to develop a plan.
The first session has already taken place but book the remaining four sessions by 9.30am on 6 October and you’ll be sent a recording of the first session along with the presentation slides.
Sign up here. Bristol Creative Industries members get £75 off the ticket price.
For almost a decade, Alli Nicholas has been at the heart of the Bristol Creative Industries community as our membership manager. Dan Martin had a chat with Alli about her role, the benefits of membership, how to make the most of being a member and more.
“I spent 20 years in recruitment, the last 10 of which were with Bristol recruiter Liz Gadd. She ran a business called Goddard Gadd which I helped her set up. She sold and exited the business and I stayed. I then set up my own recruitment agency which in the end wasn’t for me.
“I used to recruit for Fraser Bradshaw, who at the time was the MD of McCann but has since set up saintnicks. We stayed in touch after I left Goddard Gadd. He was also CEO of Bristol Media (the former name of Bristol Creative Industries) and I was chatting to him one day and he said he needed somebody to encourage members to renew and keep on top of the admin side of things. I did that for 10 hours a week to start with, it increased to 20 hours and then became a full-time job. That was nine years ago.”
“I’ve always officially been the membership manager and that is very much about looking after the needs of the members, going out to find new members and talking to them about the organisation. But we are a very small team so I also get involved in everything else including organising and promoting events, dealing with logistics and helping with the content on the website and social media. Many people might look at the website and get the impression that there’s a big team of people behind it but we are a small team and we work in a very agile way.
“No two days are the same. That’s what makes it really enjoyable. I absolutely love what I do. I’m hugely passionate about BCI and what it stands for. Our members are from such a broad range of creative industries so I never get bored. One minute I can be talking to the likes of Aardman about what they’re doing and the next it’s a freelance member with the seed of an idea who is thinking about setting up a business. They’re poles apart but each is exciting in their own way.”
“If you’re asking me to pick my favourite member, that’s like picking my favourite child! Everybody’s doing great things in their own special way.
“Back in 2016, we ran a 10th anniversary event. We produced a book and asked members to submit the projects they were most proud of. I remember flicking through the book and thinking “I can’t believe this amazing work is coming out of Bristol”. Things like the Waitrose carrier bags at the time were designed by an agency in Bristol and the branding for the Royal Mint was designed by a company in the city.
“If I had to mention a few examples of our brilliant members though, one is Seeker Digital, a company named 25th in Deloitte’s Fast 50, which showcases the fastest-growing technology companies in the UK. I was told about them, got in touch and they became a member. It’s great to have a company like that as part of the community.
“Over the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of members focused on sustainability which is an important and very topical issue. One of them is Enviral, a comms agency that helps ethical brands get into the spotlight.
“What is particularly pleasing is when you see somebody who signs up as a freelance or start-up member and then goes through a journey of growth. A company that has done that is Atomic Smash. When they first joined it was just co-founders David Darke and Piers Tincknell. Now they’re a team of around 16 people and they have moved through the membership levels. It has been great to watch them grow.”
“I think first and foremost, we’re a connector. We say we help members to learn, grow, and connect. Connect is the key word here though because it’s through connecting that people learn and grow.
“We connect people on lots of different levels. It includes our jobs board where we connect job seekers to opportunities and businesses to new talent. We connect people through peer to peer networking at events where they can share their challenges. We connect businesses to one another for collaboration and also connect businesses to brands and agencies looking for their services
“We are a community of people who have a common interest of either working in or being interested in the creative industries in Bristol and surrounding area. We’re the central hub that brings everyone together.”
“As soon as lockdown hit, we recognised the need to connect people so that they didn’t feel completely isolated. We launched a Pay It Forward campaign and encouraged members, and some non-members, to step up and offer support and guidance. We had a regularly updated blog post with offers of free help including mentoring, coaching and tips on how to manage cashflow.
“We also did a number of virtual events throughout lockdown. We had never done virtual events before so having to suddenly put on online events was a steep learning curve for us. But actually, it worked really well and they were very popular.
“We did lots of COVID-19 crisis management workshops including how to deal with clients who were reneging on their contracts, the government financial support that was available and tips on how to manage staff remotely and deal with the furlough process. We also did a preparing for recovery seminar, which was so popular that we ended up running it three times.
“People had varied challenges but we were essentially all in the same boat and navigating the same storm so we were keen to help members.”
“There are lots of different drivers for why people decide to join Bristol Creative Industries. For many people, it’s the jobs advertising on our jobs board. As a member, you get unlimited free job advertising on what is the go-to board for creative industry roles in the South West.
“There are also company branding and profiling raising opportunities with the ability to create a profile on the website and appear in the Bristol Creative Industries member directory. It is used by lots of brands looking for the services that our members offer.
“As a member, you can self-publish content on the website as often as you like. That content sits on your own profile and we promote the best posts to the homepage and main news feed and share some on our social media channels and monthly newsletter. If you’re doing some work that you’re particularly proud of, you have great client case studies or you have some thought leadership or business advice, it can all go on the website. Share quality content and we’re much more likely to promote it!
“Our business members have free access to the Engine Shed co-working space in Bristol which is a really valuable benefit. It provides a space away from the regular office or home. As a BCI member, you can use the business lounge and sign in up to two guests at a time. It’s a great space and a real hive of activity. You’re guaranteed to meet like-minded people there.
“We have a programme of events throughout the year and members receive a discount on tickets or free attendance at member exclusive events. It includes networking, training workshops, inspirational keynotes and peer to peer roundtables. Going forward, we’ll have a blended approach to events; some of them will be face to face and some will be online.
“Finally, members can access lots of other perks such as hotel, restaurant, meeting room and away day discounts.”
“Get involved! Like with anything in life, the more you put in, the more you get out. If you pay your membership fee and don’t populate your profile, you might not get the attention you’re looking for. But if you do populate your profile, you’re much more likely to make connections and generate leads. Make your profile stand out and show how you are an appealing organisation or individual to work with.
“Come to events and you will absolutely meet people there who could potentially end up working for you, give you a lead or share best practice. Our Members’ Lunch events have always been one of my favourite events as you see those light bulb moments when someone is talking about what they do and for someone else the cogs start turning and they think ‘this person can help me’.
“Join, be active, engage on social media, keep the conversation going, make connections and you will absolutely see a return on investment for your membership fee.”
“Last Friday we had our inaugural BCI Walk and Talk, which is a member-exclusive outdoor networking event and a three hour walk in the beautiful Mendips countryside. It went really well and we plan to hold it regularly.
“We’ll continue to run our Members’ Lunch events monthly. They will stay on Zoom for the time being but we hope in the not too distant future we’ll get back to doing them face to face. The next Members’ Lunch is on 14 October.
“On 22 September, we have the first in a series of five diversity and inclusion (D&I) workshops. It’s a subject everyone is talking about but lots of people aren’t sure where to start. The workshops, delivered by Morag Ofili and Mette Davis, look at the business case for D&I and how to embed it into your business’ vision, mission and values. You’ll end the series by writing an actual plan that you can implement straight away.
“We’ve got a keynote on 30 September with Andy Nairn, who has been voted by Campaign as the UK’s number one brand strategist for the last three years. We’re really excited to have him talking to us about his new book, Go Luck Yourself, which discusses the role that luck plays in building brands.
“Finally, we’re putting the finishing touches to October’s keynote with Anne Thistleton, an experienced TED talker who talks about the role the mind and psychology play in marketing decisions. Keep an eye on the events section for details.
“We’re always keen to hear from members so if you have ideas for event subjects we should cover or speakers we should invite, get in touch and we’ll do our best to make it happen!”
Not a member? Join today! Fees start at just £4.50 a month or £45 a year.
Atomic Smash is pleased to announce the sponsorship of a desk space at Spike Island Workspace – the same co-working space where Piers Tincknell and David Darke, co-founders of Atomic Smash, first set up shop as WordPress and WooCommerce specialists over a decade ago.
Atomic Smash will cover the full desk space costs for 12 months so that the recipients can concentrate on developing their business, with the option – but no obligation – to continue as users in Spike Island Workspace after the sponsorship ends.
Spike Island Workspace is the perfect location for emerging or micro-businesses who are ready to develop and establish themselves further. Working from the space expands your connections and opportunities for growth, as you join a dynamic and diverse community of artists and creative businesses.
This sponsorship is aimed at:
The sponsorship is open to all creatives who would benefit from the opportunity and we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.
Through your application, you will be able to tell us how this opportunity could make a significant difference to your future. Please also describe any access requirements you may have within your application.
Recently refurbished, Spike Island Workspace is located close to Bristol harbourside and in a busy building offering art exhibitions, artists’ studios, offices, production facilities and a café. Find out more about the space.
Monday 18th October 2021: Application closing date
Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th October 2021: Interview dates
Friday 29th October 2021: Spike Island Workspace visit
Monday 8th November 2021: Sponsorship start date
Friday 4th November 2022: Sponsorship end date
Would you benefit from this opportunity? Apply here!
Creativity and Community: a Love Story
Calling the laptop cafe junkie, the kitchen table connoisseur and the battle-weary spare room crew. There’s a new way. A way with the flexibility, community and creativity you need at its centre. And the coffee is (probably) way better.
Shared office spaces have been popping up since San Fran paved the way and a generation of freelancers and startups are flourishing. Offices split across cities and a new approach to flexible working from modern start-ups mean that co-working is here to stay.
The benefits of joining a co-working space are as long as your to-do list;
Increased productivity
Spaces designed for your working day and with focus and efficiency in mind. A relaxing, comfortable space to break for a coffee is as important as a heads-down quiet space for deep thinking.
Peers
The inspiration of like-minded souls around you and a friend always on hand to give feedback.
Connections
Co-working spaces can’t promise lifelong friendships, but they do have chats over coffee and someone to share lunchtime with.
A work-life balance to be proud of
You get to go home! A different place to where you work! Such a novelty!
Networking
A whole load of independent, creative businesses looking to work with independent, creative businesses (just like you).
Cost Efficiency
Pay only for the space you need, with the flexibility you need as your business grows into a huge, massive, gigantic billionaire corporation.
Bristol’s favourite co-working space Gather Round know all about the benefits of co-working, and they know exactly what makes the perfect space. The team there couldn’t find what they were looking for so they decided to create their own; a space designed by creatives, for creatives.
After meeting Fiasco Design and Pixelfish at Gather Round and seeing the incredible work they were capable of, working with them on our launch was a natural choice. They helped the vision for Twelve, our sustainability strategy and communications consultancy, become a reality. – Jess Ferrow, Founder of Twelve
Gather Round; Community, Creativity, Collaboration
Bristol is a city long-known for its celebration of creativity. Tastemaking musicians, culture aplenty and a love of art found from the pavements of Clifton to the patched grass of Turbo Island (if you know, you know).
The decision to build a creative business here was a simple one for founders Ben and Jason. After a successful start, their design studio Fiasco Design grew quickly and they found themselves moving studios as they expanded. After struggling to find a workspace that wasn’t a corporate office with extortionate rates and a long term contract, the idea of Gather Round was born.
The Southville residence at the old Cigar Factory proudly hosts creative thinkers and doers that call it home. Morning coffee chats, lunchtime collabs and a deep understanding and respect of one another is something that has happened naturally. They’ve created a space that allows that all to thrive. They’re soon to be heading north of the river to Brunswick Square to hold court for another incredible bunch of creatives.
Why Gather Round?
I met Amelie of Duo Hue when she joined Gather Round. She was looking for some imagery to further her brand, it felt like the perfect collaboration. Sharing a space made the planning and creative process easy and the work we produced featured in national press. – Nic Kane, Photographer/Director
Body
The Gather Round team have a few simple rules; no indoor caravans, tardis-style meeting rooms or beanbags; just beautiful spaces and good design. They’ve got all shapes and sizes covered with roomy co-working areas, permanent desk spaces for freelancers and separate offices for micro-businesses. There are spaces for collaboration, whether you’re musing over an idea, chatting out a project or need a full-blown meeting room to launch your world-takeover plan.
Mind
With Flexi desks, Resi memberships and dedicated studios for small businesses, there are flexible memberships for business needs.
For solo entrepreneurs, micro-businesses or small startups the support of peers is invaluable. Within the community at Gather Round, you’ll find support from like-minded people. Our campfire talks, morning workouts and members breakfasts, fuel the mind and body of all that attend. A day that starts with a croissant amongst friends and ends with a creative discussion on businesses in the climate emergency – is a day well spent.
Soul
Here at Gather Round, they take design seriously. Their buildings are chosen because of their character and soul. You won’t find grey walls, no-spill carpets and budget-friendly lighting. Beauty breeds beauty, and Gather Round have created a space that feels like home. If your home has deep velvet sofas, bespoke shelving and enough plants to start a greenery obsession.
The latest offering in the beautiful Brunswick Square is almost at the ribbon-cutting stage. An almost perfect location with Bristol greats such as Circomedia, Farro Bakery and Yoga on The Square, all just a stone’s throw away. Temple Meads station can be reached in 15 minutes and you can (almost, but not quite) hear the thrum of the city centre close by. They’ve created a slice of creativity in a building steeped in it and it awaits Bristol’s brightest and best.
Although almost a third of the creative industries workforce is self-employed, the role and contribution of creative freelancers in the economy is poorly understood by policymakers and they should be better supported.
That’s the claim of a new report by support organisation Creative United which said that the lack of knowledge around creative freelancers “has been laid bare by the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on creative employment and freelancing, and the patchy support that freelancers have been able to access in response”.
Although government schemes have provided funding for millions of people during the pandemic, ministers were criticised for excluded a large section of self-employed people.
Creative freelancers contribute economic, cultural and social value, the study concluded, and much more needs to be done to support them in a way that better reflects their contribution to the UK economy and society.
The research, commissioned by Nesta’s Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), makes 10 recommendations including:
Eliza Easton, head of policy at the PEC, said:
“This report is important for our understanding of freelancers in the creative industries, who, along with the self-employed, make up 32% of the sector, a much higher proportion compared to other areas of the economy. Before the pandemic, the creative industries were one the fastest growing parts of the economy, contributing over £100bn a year to the country and employing over 2 million people. However, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the inadequacy of support for freelancers and self-employed workers. If we want a post-pandemic recovery that benefits everyone in the economy, we need to ensure that policies for freelancers are designed using evidence and research, rather than trying to apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”
Researchers also interviewed 87 creative freelancers based in the Coventry City Region, London Borough of Waltham Forest and the County of Northumberland and compiled six groups to illustrate the range of creative freelancers, the characteristics that define their business motivations, and their modes of working.
A summary is below with full definitions in the report.
“I’d like to be expanding… I suppose I’d like to be ‘small to medium’ one day. I’m not sure I ever wanna be a ‘large’ business, you know, I think that probably takes a lot of the fun out of it.”
“I wasn’t interested in running a business, I just wanted to be an illustrator! I was quite happy having somebody pay me to be an illustrator.”
“I can be here when kids come back from school and can arrange meetings around that. I’m in charge of my own time, I don’t need anybody’s permission to do the things I want to do. It’s great.”
“This is the only way I can do the job I want to do, there is no alternative.”
“I would find it very hard to get out of bed to do something I didn’t care about. I’ve been obsessed with the arts and cultural industries all my life. I believe this makes a proper contribution to the community, to the world.”
“I work with a group of stroke survivors and to be able to see them return every week and to enjoy what they do and to really feel part of that group… Letting groups have their own identity – I never call myself a teacher, I am part of the mix. Learning from each other. Not about earning – the earning bit is not realistic in the arts world.”
Bristol Creative Industries has a membership level to support creative freelancers. Read what some of our members have to say about the many benefits of freelance membership.
The Kiltered Guide to Effective D&I is a practical series of five bite-sized virtual sessions to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion efforts. We’ll help you make sense of what Diversity & Inclusion means for your business, why it matters, and how to turn the conversation into action. We’ll share insights, tools and techniques to help you overcome any D&I fears and obstacles, before starting to develop a plan. Our goal is to help you create a more inclusive workplace that will lead to increased diversity, improved team motivation and better business performance.
Anyone looking to embed D&I into their business in a way that’s about more than talking and quotas. You might already be doing something D&I related, you might not. You might have taken the first step but are not sure what to focus on next. Or you might be finding it difficult to get buy-in or investment for your efforts. We’re here to help you take that next step, whatever it might be, and turn conversations into meaningful action for your business.
This series of 5 workshops will run fortnightly on a Wednesday morning starting on Wednesday 22nd September.
** NB the first session had already taken place but if you’d like to book on the remaining 4 sessions, we will send you a recording of the first session along with slides so that you can catch up.
Part 1 – 22nd September, 9-10.30am
Setting the Scene – The business case for Diversity & Inclusion
Part 2 – 6th October, 9.30-10.30am
Making Space for Inclusion – Where do I start?
Part 3 – 20th October, 9.30-10.30am
Embedding Inclusion into your Culture through your Vision, Mission, Values and Strategy
Part 4 – 3rd November, 9.30-10.30am
The Perception Gap – Using data and analytics to increase your chances of success
Part 5 – 17th November, 9.30-10.30am
Writing your plan and putting it into action
Barrister Morag Ofili started Kiltered in 2020, a forward-thinking diversity and inclusion consultancy with a mission to take the fear out of building more inclusive workspaces. Using data analytics and organisational psychology, Kiltered helps businesses develop cohesive and achievable strategies for change and empowers businesses to put plans into action in a meaningful way. Where needed, Morag can tap into her network of lawyers, HR specialists and trainers to offer additional support. Kiltered is a resource for companies and leaders who are ready to do things differently. Morag is also a director at Broadminded, a community for curious and ambitious women, running events to inspire, educate & support women across all industries.
With a career spanning 20+ years in the creative and tech industry, Mette Davis has co-founded start-ups, and held leadership positions for global networks, boutique creative agencies and a digital transformation consultancy. Her former clients include British Airways, Mars and McLaren Automotive to name a few. Mette set up her own business in 2016, partnering with businesses and individuals to help them navigate through change and unleash their full potential. She works closely with companies to develop robust business strategies that stand the test of time, helping them activate their plans across multiple areas with a suite of practical tools and techniques, including workshop design and facilitation. Mette has also previously delivered several hugely popular training workshops for Bristol Creative Industries.
Diversity & Inclusion is a topic that’s rarely out of the news. But it’s also a topic that makes us feel uncomfortable, unsure of how to approach it and where to start. And once we have started, what we should be focusing on and prioritising in our strategic plans.
This first virtual session will help to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion efforts, make sense of what it means for businesses and the creative industries specifically, why it matters, and where to start. We’ll share a balanced perspective on some of the latest research and benefits of writing a business case, and explore different approaches to D&I, including metrics you can use to drive your efforts, all with the goal of creating a more inclusive workplace that will lead to increased diversity, improved team motivation and better business performance.
Whilst many understand the importance of inclusive workspaces and have heard the stats that diversity and inclusion is good for business, a large number of businesses have no idea how to get from where they are now to where they ought to be.
There are many reasons not to change – you lack the expertise, it takes up too much time, you don’t have the money or perhaps you simply do not want to compromise the positive elements of the existing culture? This session will tackle all of these common concerns and equip you with the tools to embark on your inclusion journey with a positive mindset.
Over the course of the session, we will explore why change is hard and what we can do to embrace it to create a better workplace environment for everyone.
The 3rd session in the Kiltered Guide to Effective D&I focuses on embedding inclusion into your culture through your vision, mission, values and ultimately your strategy.
We’ll talk about inclusive leadership, what it means and why it’s important for companies who want to achieve genuine inclusion, starting with the definition of your vision, mission and values. And once created, how it weaves into every element of your strategy and creates value for your business.
We’ll talk about different approaches companies take, with real life examples who have achieved varying levels of success through their efforts, including a deeper dive into the London 2012 Olympics and what we can learn from their approach to D&I.
We’ll also provide some practical guidance to help you on your way.
So you have examined your culture and examined your values but do you actually know how your employees feel about working in your organisation?
Are you surprised that anyone would ever want to leave?
The perception gap is the distance between how you want to come across and how you are ultimately perceived.
In this session, we will look at how data helps businesses close the gap and develop solutions that are responsive to the needs of their people.
As part of the Kiltered Guide to Effective D&I series, this final virtual session focuses on putting your plan into action. We’ll provide some practical steps you can take depending on where you are on your journey, as well as a couple of useful tools that will help you on your way to developing an inclusive culture that creates value for the business and motivates your team.
We’ll also help you understand what to expect, things to look out for, and how to approach some of the trickier situations that might arise. We’ll also share examples to bring it all to life.
The Kiltered Guide to D&I is sold as a block of 5 workshops as the learning builds throughout the series. Places are £225+VAT for BCI members and £295+VAT for non-members.
Book your place(s) here.
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