Jan 27
0

Handcrafted Gallery supports 55 makers in first year

By | Business, Creative Industries, News, Newsroom, Social Enterprise

Ards Business Hub has given specialist support to 55 craft entrepreneurs involved in the creative industries in the past 12 months.

The figures were revealed as it celebrated the first anniversary of its Handcrafted Gallery in South Street in Newtownards.

Chief Executive Nichola Lockhart said that the aim of the gallery was to provide support for local makers to enable them to grow their businesses with a view to opening their own premises.

She said: “The Handcrafted Gallery was a new venture for us as it is the first time we have opened our own retail unit to provide support to the creative industries. It is an important addition to our mission to encourage entrepreneurship and grow the local economy.”

Ms Lockhart added: “We would appeal to all arts and crafts makers in the area to come to the Handcrafted Gallery, talk to the makers already here and see how we can work with them to develop their businesses.”

The Handcrafted Gallery offers a range of services including a retail hub, co-working space, finance and business planning, one to one mentoring and advice and expertise on marketing plans. At the moment there are 30 makers exhibiting their wares in the gallery shop.

These include people working in a range of disciplines including jewellery, textiles, metals, glass and fine art. Many of the makers use recycled materials that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

A number of new makers have recently started trading in the gallery and include:

·         Bluebird Jewellery Designs – using polymer clay

·         KBurridge Designs – textile artist using upcycled and reclaimed fabrics

·         Forget Me Not Crafts – making miniature houses and scenes

·         John Magill Art – painting

·         Ross McMullan Welding – metal art made out of recycled horse shoes

·         Sharon Millar Art – painting

·         Creatures & co – hand drawn cards, prints and water colours

·         Artificial Happiness – geeky handmade creations

·         Saltwater Bay – framed pieces using glass and pottery recovered from sea

·         Simply Concrete NI – homeware using waste concrete

Deborah Anderson, who makes her own range of natural soaps, cosmetics, preserves and chutneys, was so successful selling her products in the gallery that she opened Broom Cottage, her own coffee shop and deli next door.

She said:  “Being a retailer within The Handcrafted Gallery has led me to the next stage of my business. The increase in sales of my products meant that when the adjacent unit became available to rent, I seized the opportunity to open Broom Cottage Coffee Shop and Deli, selling my own products to complement items sold by The Handcrafted Gallery.”

This year Ards Business Hub plans to support 60 creative businesses and host ten ‘Meet the Makers’ events at the gallery. It is also arranging for makers to attend trade shows in Ireland and to carry out business needs assessments to help them to develop and grow.

It is the first year of a three year strategy that aims to engage with 200 makers to encourage them to be involved in the Handcrafted Gallery and take advantage of all the business support programmes.

Ards Business Hub is an independent social enterprise run by a board of nine voluntary directors. As well as providing workspace units ranging from workshops to hi-tech offices it delivers business support programme contracts in partnership with Enterprise NI and other enterprise agencies.

Its three business parks located on the Jubilee Road – Sketrick House, Strangford Park and Nendrum Park currently house more than 60 tenants employing 300 people, with room for even more growth.

For more information about the range of services available at Ards Business Hub go to https://ardsbusiness.com/ Find out more about the Handcrafted Gallery at https://www.facebook.com/TheHandcraftedGallery/

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Jan 27
0

Theatre at The Mill Christmas show dedicated to Julie

By | Comedy, Creative Industries, Theatre

A new, updated version of the heart-warming festive show My Big Fat Belfast Christmas will take centre stage at Theatre at The Mill this December.

The new script was completed by Caroline Curran and Julie Maxwell, shortly before her untimely death, which stunned the Northern Ireland theatre community. .

Theatre at the Mill’s Christmas show is dedicated to the life and work of the much loved actress, who tragically died in August.

Caroline said it had been a difficult decision to proceed with the production but she wanted to celebrate her best friend’s life and keep her memory alive.

 “This was the first piece we wrote together and instead of writing a sequel, Julie wanted us to update it and add some polish to it. Her family is so proud of her and they want to see her work performed.

“There is a big hole in everybody’s lives that will never be filled. I want to share the incredible talent Julie had. She always wanted to make people feel good. We had a fantastic relationship with Theatre at the Mill and we want to celebrate Julie’s memory and talent by giving everybody a great night out,” said Caroline.

The updated show includes many new touches including the appearance of  Alexa, references to Brexit, Harry and Meghan, as well as an amazing ‘Stormount’ Rap.

Regular cast members Jimmy Doran and Abby McGibbon are back to play their original parts along with Caroline but they will be joined by exciting newcomers Bernadette Brown and Matthew Sharpe.  The production is directed by Fionnuala Kennedy who directed the original version back in 2015.

My Big Fat Belfast Christmas is an hilarious and typically brash reworking of the Nativity Story, showing the ups and downs of spending Christmas with the ones you love.

There are lots of surprises including a miracle birth and visits from three ‘not wise uncles’.  It’s the night before Christmas and Ma Mary and Da Joe are getting the house ready for the homecoming of elder daughter Mary and her hunky new boyfriend Youcef.

Younger sister Mags, girl about town and would-be Instagram millionaire, is not looking forward to the return of her uppity sister, ‘Lady Muck’, while her parents are afraid Youcef will think they are a bunch of hallions.

Caroline added: “We set out to capture the madness and mayhem and the warmth of a Belfast family Christmas. Julie loved this time of year with all the family rituals and there are lots of little touches of her own family traditions in the script. I hope it reflects her warmth and unique personality.”

The show runs from December 3-31. To book contact the Box Office on 028 9034 0202 or go to www.theatreatthemill.com

Jan 27
0

Christian volunteers refurbish derelict church in Serbia

By | Newsroom

A Northern Ireland based Christian charity has held a special event celebrating the hard work of 39 volunteers who renovated an old Serbian church that had lain derelict for more than 30 years.

The Blythswood Ireland shop at Sperrin Business Park in Coleraine played host to members of the Go Relief team which travelled to Serbia in August, spending nine days refurbishing the Reformed Baptist church in the town of Mitrovica.

The Blythswood shop in Coleraine is one of nine across Northern Ireland selling good quality furniture, clothes and household items to raise money to fund practical support for people in need both at home and abroad.

Among those paying tribute to this important work was Alan Swanson, a director of Blythswood, who spent a few days in Serbia with the team working on the project.

He said the locals were amazed at the transformation of their church:  “The elderly pastor had been in the church for over 50 years. The church had been left derelict for nearly 30 years and he was forced to hold services in premises beside his house. It’s a great project and it’s made a difference to the community. It’s an encouragement to the believers and hopefully more people will be able to use the church.”

Aghadowey farmer Robert McCahon, the Go Relief treasurer, has been going on these trips since 2006. He says the volunteers came home humbled by the experience.

“We get much more out of it than we put in. It makes us appreciate what we have and makes you more determined to help people. We work on Blythswood projects because they have local knowledge and logistics and we know that the money is well spent and the good work is going to be carried on when we leave.”

The volunteers repaired the severely dilapidated building, putting in new walls, ceilings, and floors and even made improvements to the pastor’s nearby flat. The group included a few skilled tradespeople but most were unskilled helpers, working long hours to get the project completed.

Rev Robert Robb, Minister of Ballenon and Ballylane Reformed Presbyterian churches in the Armagh and Newry area, is the group’s secretary and a qualified joiner.

He said:  “We usually work through Blythswood. They give us options on projects to work on which helps us budget.  We try to keep the costs down. Everybody who goes pays their own way and every penny raised goes on materials for the project.

“We get a phenomenal sense of fellowship meeting other Christians from different churches and renewing friendships with team members from previous years. There have been people who have gone on the trip and been converted because of their experiences.”

This is the 13th year of Go Relief. Most of their work has been centred on Eastern Europe but they have also carried out humanitarian work in Zambia and other parts of Africa. The group will meet Blythswood head of European projects, Finlay McKenzie around Christmas time to decide next year’s project.

Blythswood Care is a Christian Charity which began in Scotland in 1966.Blythswood Ireland, an independent charity was formed 14 years ago. There is also a Blythswood organisation in Serbia which identifies worthy projects in a country still suffering 20 years after devastating war.

The charity is always looking for donations of used items, customers and volunteers to work in their shops and also to help with its annual shoebox appeal. Last year Blythswood Ireland provided over £600,000 worth of aid at home and overseas including distributing 15,000 shoeboxes worth £380,000 throughout Eastern Europe and provided £160,000 worth of medical equipment to Serbia.

For information about Blythswood Ireland go to https://www.blythswoodireland.org/

Jan 27
0

Management training company secures contract with Indian university

By | Business, Corporate, News, Newsroom

A Belfast-based management training company has broken into the vast Indian educational training market securing a £500,000 contract with a university in Mumbai and is currently negotiating further projects in the world’s fastest growing economy.

Global Management Academy, based at Innovation Factory in West Belfast, set up its first online training platform offering a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at the prestigious DY Patil University.

CEO James Johnston said: “India is an enormous market and we aim to secure up to £4 million in new business in the next two years. There are 600 million people under the age of 25 in India and by 2030 it will be the second biggest economy in the world.  The market is very sophisticated and there is a huge demand from young people keen to progress their careers by gaining the right qualifications.”

He is currently in India holding discussions with universities and large corporations in Chennai and Hyderabad to provide online management education courses with recognised qualifications.

The company began offering City and Guilds, Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) courses six years ago and has since moved into Australia, the Middle East and Europe.

Mr Johnston said: “City and Guilds approached us to set up ILM centres across India.  City and Guilds are well established there, but have not yet established the ILM leadership and management training arm of their business.  Our goal is to set up 30 ILM centres across India in the next five years.”

The company, which is supported by Invest NI, has also formed an alliance with Ulster University to provide an online pathway into its MBA programmes.

“Ulster University is developing a strong presence in India, attracting candidates from across the country to study for their degrees in Northern Ireland. We offer an alternative pathway to enable busy professionals to study for the first part of the MBA online in India, then complete the programme at UU. Invest NI is also helping us to form alliances with other organisations across India. “

At the moment there are six people working in the Belfast office, but James anticipates this growing substantially over the next five years to meet demand.

The company moved to Innovation Factory two years ago and Mr Johnston says it is the perfect environment to meet the needs of Global Management Academy.

He said: “It’s a wonderful facility and we love working here. There are a lot of businesses in the building that we can spin ideas off and get support from.”

Majella Barkley, Centre Director at Innovation Factory said the Global Management Academy was a great example of a Northern Ireland company prepared to look beyond these shores to explore global opportunities.

She said: “It is fantastic to see a Northern Ireland company securing contracts in a fast-growing economy like India. It shows what can be done if you are imaginative, ambitious and confident in your ability to compete on a worldwide scale.”

Innovation Factory is owned by Belfast City Council and operated on their behalf by Oxford Innovation. The £9.1m business hub was funded by Belfast City Council and Invest NI with support from the European Regional Development Fund.

Customers include a range of start-ups and growing businesses in a variety of sectors including digital services, creative industries, business services, financial services and research and development.

For more information on the Innovation Factory visit: www.innovationfactoryni.com.

To find out about the Global Management Academy, go to: https://globalmanagementacademy.com/united-kingdom/

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