Andy has become a regular face at the Exchange over the last couple of months, so I decided to find out a little bit more about him  last week:

Hi Andy, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’ve been living in Birmingham for ten years, currently over in Selly Park. I’ve been working as an Architect and in the construction industry for about fourteen years now,  in private practice for the majority of those years, and in the last 6 months have decided to set up my own practice. I’m currently in discussions with a colleague about forming a partnership but we haven’t launched that yet.

As an Architect I’ve spent the last 8 years in a private practice in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and built up a good relationship with a wide range of clients. The majority of my experience has been in education where I’ve been designing new buildings and refurbishments for schools, colleges and universities. I’ve also had considerable experience in the residential sector together with a variety of commercial and retail projects. Currently my main focus is picking up on the contacts I’ve made over the last 8 years in private practice and building up my own small studio. I’m starting with residential work for which I’ve got a few feasibility studies and I’m looking at getting back into the education market as opportunities arise.

Can you say a little about your involvement with the Exchange?

I’ve been coming here since the beginning of July which is pretty much the moment I started working for myself full time. I came to the Exchange by chance – a friend of my wife mentioned it to me and I must say it didn’t really appeal to begin with because I was looking for a space for 2 to 4 people in the Jewellery Quarter, or in the city. But then I came here two or three times on a trial pass and I was really bowled over by how warm it seems as a place of people with different mindsets . I didn’t really appreciate that places like this existed. I’d been down to the Custard Factory but  its still mostly people in their own individual offices. Having trialled the Exchange on several occasions I could see that you could just feed off each other, which is a great bonus when you’re starting a business. The facilities are better than I could afford as a small business owner on my own and the opportunities to discuss how things are going with other people is terrific – I’m really enjoying it here.

Is there anything you’d like to see added, changed or improved here?

When I first came here there were quite a few talks scheduled and the occasional advice and workshop sessions. I’m hoping these will continue in September and I can help stimulate or benefit from them. The Wednesday mid-week lunch and Friday Coffee and Cake sessions are terrific and it would be great if we can keep them regular and a bit more productive. It doesn’t matter how few people come along as long as we can sit down and natter about something. We should treat them seriously as mini networking sessions and tap into each others experiences – something you don’t get when you’re working on your own. I’d like to see the Exchange build on this and also not to lose focus on the business sessions it can bring in.

We also need to look at the built environment as well at the Exchange, which is nearly perfect for the work we do, but I notice a few people still feel they need to pop out to make phone calls. The environment needs to be a bit more supportive so that people can make calls at their desk without concern for disturbing other people.

Maybe as an Architect you can advise us how to improve the built environment at the Exchange?

Absolutely. I’ve spoken to Tony (centre manager) on a couple of occasions and made some enquiries with suppliers to see if we can get some assistance. It’s a very good space and there are just a few adjustments to the acoustic treatment that need to be done, which we should push to get implemented.

TOP TIPS!

Do you have any top tips – either starting up in business, working on your own, or just generally getting things done?

Top Tip 1: ‘Getting things done’ (GTD) is a kind of trademark phrase which I’ve only recently come across and I’m using it as much as I can. I’m genuinely seeing  it helping me get through a multitude of projects. I started at the beginning of July and I now have 20 different projects, all at different stages, as well as things in my private life. So my top tip number 1 is investigate Getting Things Done and give yourself the opportunity to take it seriously.

My Top Tip 2 is to take advice anywhere and everywhere you can, and consider it properly.

Andy trades as Andy Hunt Architecture and can be contacted at andy@hunt-architecture.co.uk.

Photographer Dan Burwood, featured in our Photography exhibition earlier this year, will be holding a solo show at the Solihull Gallery between 26 July and 21st August entitled The Jesus Festival.

“In [Aramaic speaking] Maloula, Syria, an annual festival commemorates the hilltop fire, lit there in the Byzantine era, part of a chain of beacons carrying news of the finding of a splinter of the Cross.

In September 2009 Birmingham based photographer Dan Burwood returned to the family he met there the previous year to make this series of photographs. They examine the relationships between religion, culture and identity within a minority community in the Middle East.”

We’ll be heading along to the launch party 6:15-7:30pm Thursday 29th July and there’ll also be an artists talk 6:15-7:30pm on Tuesday 2 August.

For further information, visit the Solihull Council website Gallery page at http://www.solihull.gov.uk/gallery/

Chris and Steve at the Exchange

Chris de Souza is has been a regular face at Moseley Exchange over the last couple of months. Recently he’s been involved in a new business partnership venture which should lead to some exciting times ahead! We caught up with Chris and his business partner Steve Heyes after the coffee morning last Friday.

Tell us a little about yourselves

Chris: I’m a freelance graphic designer specialising in branding and web design.

Steve: I’m a freelance web developer specialising in anything to do with the web from social media to website creation – front end development.

Chris: We’re starting a company called Studio Bonito which will be a full service digital creative agency in Birmingham. That’s all starting very shortly.

How did this all come together – meeting up and putting the idea together?

Steve: We met at church, just started chatting and hanging out, realised we were into the same kind of thing, Chris doing graphics and me doing web design then we did a few projects together which went really well.

Chris: From there it just seemed to make sense to carry on working together in some dynamic. Spending time in industry we knew that we wanted to branch out with an ethos of our own.

So what will this new company do?

Chris: Well the two areas we specialise in are branding – building a customer experience for a company, brand guidelines, and brand strategy, and then really focusing on website design and build. So we can help companies communicate online using bespoke websites which will be fully content managed.

So creating a unique logo and identity – a bit like the BBC website which you always know is the BBC because it’s got that look about it?

Both: Yes, definitely.

We’re talking here at Moseley Exchange – how has the Exchange helped you in your work?

Chris: I’ve spent the last 2 months working here as a freelancer and it has been great. It’s very convenient for me to get to – a 5 min walk from home. There’s a really good atmosphere to create in, it is light and airy, clean and modern. Time to focus on your work, but you can meet other people over lunch which is good for contacts but also refreshing as well.

So do you think centres like this are useful?

Steve: Definitely. For start-ups and freelancers I think it’s a great facility. The networking at Coffee and Cake on Friday is really helpful, there are always people around to bounce ideas off each other, and it’s a great environment.

Chris: Helps keep overheads down as well. It’s really good for when you’re transitioning – developing a project where you can’t commit to a fixed term rent but need somewhere that gets you out of the house.

So what’s the next step now? Where are you moving on to?

Chris: We’ve got 6 months in an office in Aston Science Park through an organisation called BSEEN. Basically provides office space, training and mentoring, some finance as well in a supportive incubator environment, which will be fantastic for us as a place to start-up Studio Bonito.

Do you have any top tip as creatives or freelancers?

Chris: When you create a brand its not what you say you are, it’s what other people say you are which is important.

Steve: Just network, get in to the scene. There’s a load of things to get involved with, like coffee and cake at Moseley Exchange, multipack for web developers and things like that. I’ve had job opportunities and other good things come out of networking.

If you would like to stay in touch with Chris, he can be emailed at chris@studiobonito.co.uk and Steve at steve@studiobonito.co.uk, or you can visit their website at http://studiobonito.co.uk.

The Moseley Cut Film Competition is calling for entries from “anyone and everyone living in Birmingham” who fancies having a go at producing a short film. There are no age restrictions or pre-requisite of experience; in fact entries are welcome even more if you have never attempted to make a film before!

The films will be shown as an installation at the Art Trail during this year’s Moseley Festival. The Art Trail debuted for the first time last year, and was such a success that it will bigger and better this year.

The winning films will be shown on repeat here at the Moseley Exchange from 12pm to 5pm on the following dates:

• Saturday 10^th July
• Sunday 11^th July
• Saturday 17^th July
• Sunday 18^th July

There will also be a launch party and “Premier” for the winners and artists featured on the trail on Friday July 9^th between 6–8pm here at the Moseley Exchange.

Download the Film Competition Info & Application Form (Word).

Our mid week catch up lunches on Wednesdays now come with a little food for thought once a month with a speaker or discussion topic; first up we had Exchange member Dr Steve Harding hosting a policy cafe – a useful discussion on the prospects for creative industries.

Keep an eye on our calendar for future topics and other events.

food by ChangeKitchen

This Tuesday saw the opening night for our fourth exhibition. Thank you to everyone who came along!

The food provided by Exchange host Birgit’s new social enterprise ChangeKitchen was superb; if you missed out, why not book ChangeKitchen to cater for your next event?

The artwork will remain on display throughout June and July so please pop in to take a look when you’re next in Moseley.

Karl Bird - Blue Juice

Our June/July exhibition features a variety of work by local artists Ildiko Nagy, Jan Bowman and Karl Bird.

Ildiko has recently exhibitied her work in a solo show at the Custard Factory.

Jan has exhibited widely around Birmingham including Qube Gallery 2008, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and Birmingham Museums & Art Galleries.

Karl is currently completing his degree in BA in Fine Art at Margaret St BCU.

We invite you to join us for the opening night,  7-9pm Tuesday 1 June,  for some informal art appreciation over a glass of wine and tasty nibbles kindly provided by ChangeKitchen, a new Social Enterprise founded by Exchange host Birgit Kehrer, providing catering services accross the West Midlands and beyond.

All welcome!

We are extremely pleased to be named as one of the top 10 co-working spaces in the UK by Creative Boom, a national online magazine for the creative industries.

We are also excited to have received a mention in the current issue of Birmingham Post Lite (on page 11).

If you’d like to try co-working with our friendly bunch, why not get a Trial Pass for 5 free entrances over the space of a month or come along to any of our regular events.

There will a Business Advice Drop-in Event here at the Moseley Exchange between 2pm and 6pm on Wednesday 21 April.

The following orgainsations will endeavour to answer your questions on Business Planning, Marketing, Finance, Staffing, Employment law, Legal structures with one-to-one sessions on starting a business, intellectual property, development programmes, specialist advise and many more topics.

• Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Retail Development Programme
• Business Insight
• UnLtd
• ISE
• Business Link
• the Digbeth Trust

This event is being co-ordinated by Birmingham City Council, Enterprising Communities, Be Birmingham and Sparkbrook – Springfield Town Centre Management. For further information, please click here, or telephone 0121 675 7582.

Two new additions to the list of co-working spaces around the world thanks to Angela Dickson in Coventry…

• The Old Broadcasting House in Leeds
• Brighton Desk Space …in Brighton

Especially nice to see the Old Broadcasting House which I used to walk past every day on the way to Uni.

Thanks Angela