O.D.D, Spookey Lukey and TXS from the East Midlands found free spaces to dance with somewhereto_

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Need a space for your dance rehearsals/performances or dance video? Find your free space here

It’s Global Entrepreneur Week! Introducing Krisi Smith, 24, who started up Bluebird Tea Co. with the help of somewhereto_

We create unique and funky loose leaf tea blends such as ‘Monkey Chops’ - the banana tea and ‘Christmas Cake’ - which sparkles like a snowflake when brewed. We also use our teas and fresh ingredients to make up tea based drinks like iced teas, smoothies and tea lattes. Gingerbread Chai Tea Latte is our favorite at the moment!

Everyone - tea lover or not; we have something for everyone and that is the point of Bluebird. We wanted to make tasty, fresh, healthy drinks that put fun back into tea without all the confusing posh facts about elevation or estates that is usually associated with tea. Strawberry Lemonade is a massive winner for kids - especially iced. Bonfire Toffee tends to be a favorite with the men. MojiTEA is a favorite with the ladies - especially as an iced tea cocktail! There is something for everyone.

It has been challenging managing cash flow and stock… especially for Christmas. Predicting what you are going to sell and ordering in advance for it is so tricky when dealing with seasonal items.

Our mission statement is two-fold: 1. ’ To become the proof that you can be a nationally recognised, thriving company by basing business deicions on spreading happiness and enriching lives’ 2. ‘To have made tea exciting, fun, unique, simple, accessible to all and a regular occurrence both in and outside of the home’

somewhereto_’s spaced_ day was a brilliant experience because we met some really interesting people who gave us some invaluable advise, we learnt a lot from the workshops and we were able to gain experience pitching to spaceholders. We are currently trading at Brixton Market - a space we won through this event and we are working with The Gild as branding mentors which is brilliant.

The best experience with somewhereto_ so far has definitely been the Spaced event.

We desperately need our own office with packing space and we are also looking for retail spaces to trade from.. although mostly temporary spaces at the moment like markets and pop ups.

somewhereto_ offers so many projects covering all sorts of industries and areas. They provide a brilliant platform for young entrepreneurs to meet experts, gain experience and advise, take part in brilliant projects and meet other young entrepreneurs. We are involved with a few organisations dedicated to helping youth enterprise and the standard of help and creative and innovative projects from somewhereto_ by far outshine the others.

We are currently working on Christmas. We have over 40 temporary events to attend from pop up shops, tea cocktail evenings, food markets and Victorian Christmas markets. In the new year we will be (hopefully) moving into new offices and expanding into new packing space as well as solidifying our strategy to continue to bring our ‘pop up tea experience’ to our customers throughout the country.

Website: www.bluebirdteaco.com Twitter: @bluebirdteaco Facebook: /BluebirdTeaCo Entrepreneur Blog: http://thatbluebirdgirl.wordpress.com/

We’re so proud of Krisi! Her company looks amazing. Before we put the kettle on we want to remind YOU that if you have a business idea but you need the space to see if happen, then get in contact! It’s so easy. Just click here

middle child theatre company on somewhereto_ing!_

Having been provided with rehearsal space over the last few months, Middle Child Theatre Company has really grown.

somewhereto_ talks to the director of the company, Mungo, about his experience.

“Luisa was hugely positive, and immediately got onto the task of contacting local businesses and arts organisations in the Humberside area”

Mungo, Director of Middle Child Theatre

how did you get in touch with somewhereto_? 

I approached somewhereto_ in November 2011, having stumbled across somewhereto_ on Twitter, through a retweet of a fellow theatre-maker. Our new theatre company, Middle Child, had existed for a solitary month, were based in Hull, and were looking for a space to rehearse in, the perfect match! 

how did you go about planning your partnership together? 

somewhereto_ immediately responded and a meeting was set up in Hull, between members of Middle Child and Luisa Golob, regional coordinator for Yorkshire & Humber. We outlined our plans for the future, our current projects, and what we were looking for in terms of rehearsal space. All in all, it seemed a tall task – we were essentially asking for an empty room/building, that would be available to us as much as possible! And of course, for as little as possible. 

After a couple of non-starters, we were put in contact with the Goodwin Centre, a local community-based organisation. Their chief executive Peter McGurn then got in touch, and having read our manifesto and seen our work and intentions were of a similar vein, said that he would like to offer us a space to rehearse in. 

what was the space? 

Both coincidentally and fortunately, the charity had just bought a…

Want to know what the space was?

                     What really happened since they moved in?

                                     How does the future look for middle child theatre company?

Read the rest of the article here

Find out how YOU could find a space of your very own here!

Jessica Collings, from Legacy Trust UK came to work from the Livity offices for an afternoon and writes about her experiences meeting projects and organisations like somewhereto_ and Livity that Legacy Trust UK have funded.

Legacy Trust UK has funded programmes across the UK to create a legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and somewhereto_ is no exception.

As communications and marketing assistant at Legacy Trust UK I spend a lot of time sharing the inspiring news of our projects, which means that I am always coming across great stories about the involvement of young people.

Recently, I’ve been able to get out and about and experience this on the ground. In October I visited a somewhereto_ project in the West Midlands that we were filming for a video case study (to be released soon!). There I met Terence, the West Midlands co-ordinator, and Ophee, a young man who had turned his life around thanks to somewhereto_.

Ophee’s story before somewhereto_ involved getting in trouble and having brushes with the law. Now, he is leading regular football coaching sessions with children at his somewhereto _ space (pitches at a leisure centre) and training for a professional qualification. It was a long day, filming outdoors in the wet and cold, but Ophee was happy to oblige. The positive relationship that he had with Terence was clear to see.

We chose Ophee as an example of the work that our programmes are doing with young people of all backgrounds, up and down the UK. I was also able to visit Blaze in the North West, a Legacy Trust UK project that has helped young people to produce their own festivals and gain real life work experience in the creative industries. The young people I have met have developed a confidence and sense of direction that it is impossible not to admire.

One thing I often hear from our youth orientated programmes is how much the participants value the respect and responsibility they are given by the project co-ordinators. Handing ownership of a project to young people shows faith in their ability and it is a powerful tool.

Today I am visiting Livity HQ, where somewhereto_ calls home. It’s clear to see where this youth leadership angle has come from – it is ingrained in everything they do. In a bustling, bright space (“office” would be a misleading noun), young people are coming and going, creating and informing. I realise that I’ve become an unofficial participant: after all, they’ve just given me somewhereto_blog.

In the words of a wise old frog, “it’s not easy being green”. In a city it’s even harder with green spaces transforming to concrete jungles in the desperate need to create homes and offices. Even Kermit would find a place to sit in the sun or a carrot to grow a serious challenge!

FACT ALERT!

Did you know that in World War II, the moat around The Tower of London was turned into a vegetable garden to make use of all available space and tackle severe food shortages.

© The National Archives / Heritage Images

And yet, unusual ideas have sprung out of a competition led by The London High Line. In conjunction with The Landscape Institute, Mayor of London and Garden Museum who, this summer called out for proposals for innovative concepts for green areas in London.

The winning proposal? To transform a disused tunnel underneath Oxford Street into an urban mushroom garden. Hey, watch this space guys. Who knows what other strange, secret, or inspired places could be made to good use.

Have you got a proposal of your own?

somewhereto_ would love to hear it…

Check it out…

Matt Cardle takes some time out of T4 Stars of 2011 to talk to somewhereto_ about the importance of giving young people the space to do the things they want to do.

Get in touch today to use a wicked space for FREE!

An absolutely incredible photograph from The Guardian

The effect photographer John Raoux has achieved with an extended exposure is great!

Need somewhereto_ practice your photography skills? Get in touch today. Not only can we provide space for free, in some cases we can also provide high-tech equipment!

guardian:

An extended exposure of the Falcon 9 rocket as it launches from Cape Canaveral Photograph: John Raoux/AP

Tuesday’s launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral air force station in Florida was the culmination of months of preparation for the first commercial flight to the International Space Station

Every month, the residents of Sharrow, Sheffield get together for a cook-along…

Sheffield draws students from all over the world to come and study at its universities, but sometimes it’s easy for international students to get lost amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. Yat-Fai, as part of the international student support team at Sheffield Hallam University and an international student herself, introduced monthly cooking events for everyone in Sharrow to attend, to make new friends and get cooking! With this idea in mind Yat-Fai needed a space to accomodate her fellow cooks!

“We have particularly enjoyed the themed cuisines that the cook-alongs offer. As a result, students have the chance to cook something new and learn more about the different dishes around the world. Also, the interactivity of the sessions where our students help to cook the meals with local people, really helps to build on the students’ confidence and helps them to practice their English.”

somewhereto_ were on hand to help and found Yat-Fai a large space with a kitchen and eating area for the Sharrow residents to get cooking.

Open up a free space just around the corner here.