Merry Christmas!

Hey look at that, nearly two months have passed since I last posted now I am sure that no one is reading but nevertheless i will make a renewed effort to post regularly in the new year. Things have been busy what with a new baby iminent and lot of home improvement to be done. Oh yes, and lets not forget the day job!
The hub night was a success but no seems like a distant memory, we have been offered a new venue for the next event at the innoveation centre, which is nice - it gives a bit of credibility to the whole thing. Hopefully we can attract the big names that were conspicuous in their absence at the last one!

hub night is upon us

Well, what started as a notion back in may is tonight actually happening. I find it hard to believe what we have put in motion and the response that we have been getting. After a minotr set back in the form of the Play Bar having no record of our booking all is going ahead as planned, just some final checks to make, make sure I know what I'm going to say then just turn up!
Bring it on!

Just in case someone is reading

I thought I should post something. We have been busy over the last couple of weeks getting the website live and preparing the e-mailshot to promote the first hub event. I have been assured that the site will be live this afternoon which will mean that people will be able to register for the mailout and the events.
Since our visit to the 100% shows we have had a positive response from the Bombay sapphire foundation who are keen to know more about us. As soon as the site goes live we can get on with spreading the word, so far we have a mailing list of abut 55. This needs to grow considerably if we are going to get the numbers we are hoping for. We are at a point now where we are looking forward to the second and third events since there are people who have said that they will be unable to attend but would still like to be involved. When you think that all this was just a thought a few months ago, it really is amazing what you can achieve when you put it out there.

play bar to host first hub event

After convincing myself that finding a venue would be a difficult and costly excersise, we finallly have a home for the first event! The play bar on old street have offered us exclusive use of their upstairs bar on the 26th of October, all we have to do, is ensure that the bar spend is over £500 (shouldn't be hard as most of the creatives I know are partial to a shandy or two!) After a very positive response from the 100% shows at the weekend I am confident that we can attract quite a crowd.

the face of the hub

Well, the excitement was short lived about the hub's new home..there is an exhibition on so we cannot use beaconsfield for thefirst event in October. Nevermind, I am sure we will find somewhere else before too long. In the meantime I have generated an Identity for the hub project. That's the thing about us designers, we are so concerned with the look of things to the extent that I don't feel that my project is really live until I have cards printed. So I was ablle to negotiate a 50/50 deal with a printers for fulll colour mailers which would have been great, however with precisely no time to design them and get them printed before next weeks design week in London I have managed to blag some freebie cards from good old Thomas and Sons, stationery printers of distinction. Bernard you are a true gentleman.

A home for the hub?

It is taking a while to come together but we are exploring a possible venue for the creative hub events. We have been pointed in the direction of BEACONSFIELD Not to be confused with the Buckinghamshire town of the same name, this is an arts venue in Vauxhall. It looks like a really interesting space and will hopefully encourage visitors to travel south of the river. We need to make an unreasonable demand of the owners...to let us use the venue for free, fingers crossed.

Three heads are better than one

I am pleased to say that the team at the centre of the creative hub has tripled in size thanks to the input of two talented creatives who have said yes to the possibility of this project. Props to Alan and Miguel. We met last week to discuss how the project could be taken forward and who we would like to be involved. For me personally it was especially exciting to have the input of other parties as it serves to validate the idea. Look out for post from them coming soon!

Why the creative hub?

I thought it was about time I introduced some visual interest to this blog, after all this is a primarily visual medium, and what better way to demonstrate the analogous nature of the project's title than with this picture of a cartwheel. I was told recently that the Wheel is the Taoist symbol for leadership, and it is the hub, or more precisely the hole in the middle of the wheel that defines its very nature. Sure, the wheel in the picture doesn't have a hole but that is because it is filled with the axle (what with it being a cartwheel an all) The other more obvious analaogy is that of a transport hub, a central point where travellers from different places cross paths on their way to different destinations. So you see, it works on both levels as both a metaphor for my possibility as an inspiring leader and the creation of a space in which connections can be made. Not at all random then...

Hiding in plain view

The interweb is a wonderful thing, so private yet so very public at the same time. Here I am, posting daily on a blog about my project and talking as if to an audience of readers. I might as well be talking to myself, after all..I have absolutely no idea who is reading this. If I am going to spread the word I have to up my visibility, I have got me a Technorati Profile. I am not sure what that does but it sounds great.

Eating the elephant in your living room

Now I don't mean to mix my metaphors but I think that this title is quite appropriate. Let me explain...
Two things are at play here: The massive issue that is being ignored (the elephant in your living room) and the need to approach a large task one step at a time (Q: how do you eat an elephant? A: bit by bit)
Some of my contemporaries have been expressing a sense of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task (i.e community project) that they are undertaking, to the extent that they get nothing achieved. Time to break it down into manageable chunks and get some help, me thinks.
As for me, I am suffering from the opposite, in as much as I get so bogged down with minutiae that I loose sight of the bigger picture. I can feel it happening with this blog. The intention was to keep a record of progress with the creative hub project but it is turning into a daily sermon. I have attached too much significance to making daily posts to the detriment of my bigger picture of creating a new future. Could it be that I am missing the elephant in my living room?
Hmmm..somebody hand me that big fork, I'm in the mood for some trunk.

Who's on board?

Thank you to Lee Chalmers for providing me with the quote for the last post, powerful stuff.
One line that stands out is The time of the lonely wolf is over! Gather yourselves.
Asking for help can be one of the hardest things. I am one of those people who always wants to do it on their own, to prove that they are capable of rising to any task. Invariably there comes a point where I make a mistake and all the toys get thown out of the pram. If I am doing it for myself by myself, it is down to me when I lower my standards and say that'll do, and if it seems insurmountable, it is me who decides to give up or maybe,not even try.
But what if I did ask for help at the start? What if I was able to gather a team of people who I trust and admire to help me realise my ambition? What if I had someone to share the responsibility and hold me to account? Perhaps we would see extraordinary results - after all two heads are better than one.
So I am pleased to say that I have done just that and enlisted some help. Two friends have now said YES to the possibility.
The wheels are turning..

A Message From the Hopi Elders

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour.

There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel like they are being torn apart,
and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore,
push off toward the middle of the river,
keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
See who is there with you and celebrate.
At this time in history,we are to take nothing personally,
least of all ourselves!
For the moment we do, our spiritual growth and journey
comes to a halt.

The time of the lonely wolf is over. Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

Where to start?

There comes a point with any project where you have to stop TALKING about it and start DOING something about it. Keeping this blog has been good for me, it has served to keep the project at the front of my mind all the time, but as long as it stays up there it is only ever going to be just an IDEA. Now is the time to take action, after all I haven't really acknowledged what a huge resource I have at my fingertips... Let's get busy.

Build it and they will come

The creative hub project has been approved. Yay!
What comes next is down to me, I have to start spreading the news and telling more people about it, more importantly making contact with the people who could become involved in the project. What is still a little vague is WHY would anyone want to be involved? Will it be a sufficient draw to talk about such an abstract concept as sharing inspiration? It think so..Perhaps I want to pitch it somewhere between social and business networking.
Maybe I should start by looking at what I want to get out of it?
The creative hub project was borne out of a feeling of isolation, working in a tiny studio in the suburbs I felt that I was missing out on something, that it was always going on somewhere else. I was always going to be on the periphery unless I did something about it, so I put it out there that I wanted to set up a forum for people to meet and share ideas and within no time people were approaching me, asking to get involved. Perhaps it really is that easy..
(in case you were wondering about the title, its from Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner, mmm cheesy!)

The creative hub ONLINE...

...It really is quite amazing how quickly you can achieve something when you put your mind to it.
I had thought that it would take a bit of time to sort out a web presence but I was wrong, I registered a domain name last night and there is a page up already! Just like that!
Of course, now I have to make the site, which is the hard bit (but judging by the speed of progress so far, it might not be!) After all, I will certainly NOT be taken seriously by my peers in the design community if I do not have a kick ass website. In the meantime you can visit it here and bookmark it for a later visit.

Asking BIG questions..

...and getting unexpected answers!
This project is all about stepping out of my comfort zone and thinking a bit bigger.
I thought I would share an astounding thing that happened today. I was challenged to make a speculative enquiry to a company who's work I admired but for whom I couldn't imagine working. Just find the address, find out who I should write to and ask them for an interview. It was essentially to be an exercise in getting a NO - just send it and not be worried about whether they respond or not, the most improtant thing being: WRITE A LETTER AND POST IT. So I did...and do you know what? I got an email today from the very person I wrote to inviting me to call to arrange a time to bring my portfolio in. OMG!
Now where's that portfolio...

The creative hub manifesto

Well now, the idea is taking shape..what I need is a manifesto, some guidelines and promises, something that I can be held to account for.
What I really need are some specific measurable results.

So here they are the SMRs for the creative hub project:
1. An event to be held in central london on 26.10.06
2. 60 registered guests attening from creative backgrounds
3. £1000 worth of corporate sponsorship for the event
4. Two high profile speakers from the design industry
5. 50% of guests register interest in attending a second event
6. A website supporting the project with a messageboard

I invite you to keep watching this space to check how I get on.

What is the creative hub?

At present it is an idea, but it is gradually becoming more real with every word that I type or person that I talk to. it is essentially a forum for creative people to meet and share inspirations. Its not the greatest innovation and I am not a pioneer. What I am is a possibility, the possibility of inspiration. Being inspired by others and being inspiring to others.
JOIN ME..

A journey of 1000 miles..

...starts with one step.
It's just like passing a door that you have passed many times before, except this time you decided to stop and walk through it.
It didnt take any more effort that any other action I have taken before, except this is the action that has set in motion an unstoppable surge of momentum that will see extraordinary transformations happening around me.
Here I stand, a clearing for inspiration in my community.

So Mr Humphrey...will it be the red pill or the blue pill?