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1
Aug 10

We Are Open Project

I am really happy to have finally visited the “Pop Up Garden” on Newport Road yesterday. While I was a little confused as to the nature of the shop (pardon the pun), it’s definitely worth a look. You can check out the latest post about the garden on the official blog. I don’t have a garden, but if I was looking for someone to redesign my garden - Chris Eves Garden Design would be my first stop! Some great work by this small company.
For those of you who fancy having a goo – remember that Saturday 7th is their last day and they’ll be selling off the plants used in the displays….some bargains to be had I’m sure.

What else is going on with the We Are Open project?

The “We Are Open” idea comes from the popular movement in the US, where local councils revive prime spaces in city centres, by opening them to local artists, writers and musicans…and garden designers! The shops / projects within these three sites change regularly, without warning. If you want to know what is coming up there is a flyer available on site, which outlines the upcoming activities.

The three sites are located in the city centre – Newport Road, Linthorpe Road and Albert Road. All three are worth a look, so check them out.

My favourite upcoming project…..you guessed it – “Mama Dot’s Tea Room”. This experience will run from the 30th September until the 3rd of October. Why not drop in and warm your hands on a cuppa while chatting to some of the locals?

We Are Open…..My Thoughts

First of all – I love the idea and fair play to Middlesbrough Council for taking a leap of faith and letting Jenny and Nicky to run with the project. I read somewhere (I think it was the BBC news site), that one in five shops in Middlesbrough are now closed. This had had a major impact on the look of the town, if nothing else. By launching the We Are Open project, the Council have brought a bit of life to the dead parts of the town, and given designers, artists and the like, a chance to meet a larger portion of their market face to face.

The drawbacks – there are a few. I just don’t think that there just aren’t enough of the shops in prime locations, which is a shame. It would be good if the council could identify the properties which lay in the path of the largest number of shoppers and then move the artists there.

I don’t think the public know what the shops are, or represent. This could be solved by distributing flyers to houses in the region, or having a council representative available on site in order to explain the point of the projects to the public. Lord knows that the artists in residence have not conveyed the message very well. Not for lack of trying – more for the lack of sales skills and time!

There are a lot of artists and what not that I have not been to see. I think it might be a good idea to have a “What You Missed” page, with photos of the work or sales items and then contact details for those concerned. That way, people like me could benefit by catching up with past projects, and the creatives might get some post project sales?

Again – I adore the project – these thoughts are just a few ideas that I couldn’t keep to myself….rightly or wrongly!

Greenhouse Business Camp Event

Right folks. Decided that flying home three times in one month was not enough. Decided that Greenhouse Business Camp was worth risking my life for (read flying with RyanAir). It is being held at Trinity on the 5th of December.

Yes, a Saturday.

Yes, it starts at 10am.

Yes, I hope that the Trinity rugby team will be playing outside….where I can see them!

Looking like it’ll be interesting but not too sure. Unproven models can sometimes fit in perfectly with the market – other times, the organiser or delegates miss the point completely and it’s a disaster. Will keep you updated either way. I think Thinking Digital is a great example of an unproven model totally knocking the socks off delegates and funders alike. It’s setting the tone for other events in the North East and beyond. Prices are steep, but well worth it.

Excited, but not enthused by the sign up method. It doesn’t seem uniform. I kept my description short and sweet but others are short of “War and Peace”. Is there some bettter way of preventing self promotion??

Likewise, speakers are not being pushed as much as they should be. It would be good to get a bit of background on them, a little bit of self promotion on their side may ensure that delegates know what they are signing up for. One speaker (John Whelan) describes himself as a “Terminal entrepreneur”, really not too sure if that’s a good thing.

Having said all that, I do have three people on my “must meet list”, which will probably grow as I identify those speakers and delegates that I could benefit from. I’m thinking (in no particular order….)

1) Pat Phelan - This man appears everywhere, so it might be wise to assume he knows a) a lot of people in digital b) he’s no fool c) he’s a good person to speak to if you want to get the lay of the land in Ireland from a digital perspective. He’s got a good run down of what he does on his site, but this is by no means the end to his talents and network.

2) Daragh Doyle – self styled (modest) guru of all things community. Describes himself as : “Boards.ie Community Manager, entertainment and events blogger and sharer of awful jokes.” You can also add him on LinkedIn.

3) Evert Bopp – Founder of the Business Camp and all round ambitious risk taker. It would be interesting to hear what his experiences are in terms of self funded ventures, events and incubators.

I might throw in a few of the delegates that caught my eye, but not too sure if it’s a factual bio or just shameless self-promotion.

If anyone fancies a cuppa while I’m over, grab me while you can – I’ll only be in Dublin for the day!

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26
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