17.11.22

Gather Round at WEDFresh

Earlier this month, we saw our very own Jason Smith take the stage at the newly coined WEDFresh event down at Propyard. After almost three years of very few events, West of England Design Forum brought together 14 creatives from across the city for a night of quick fire, pecha-kucha style talks. Each speaker was tasked with presenting 20 slides, each 20 seconds long, on a topic of their choosing. It was certainly fast and furious! The night saw a whirlwind of topics: from inclusivity to finding your rhythm, from passion projects to studio culture. It was super inspiring to see the incredible diversity of talent that exists within Bristol.

Gather Round’s Co-founder Jason was asked to be one of the speakers, and of course we were all there to cheer him on! One of Cigar Factory’s OGs Joss Ford was also invited to talk about finding his love for sustainability and why our approach to climate change should embrace more of a punk ethos. Something we can certainly get behind. And of course the wonderful GR member Kendra Futcher is one of the main organisers behind WEDF, so big ups Kendra! Absolutely smashed it.

Being at WEDF’s Fresh event made us realise how valuable these kinds of events are. It had been a long time since Bristol’s creative community had all been under one roof together and you could feel a buzz in the air. Sure, virtual meetings and talks are fantastic, but they just don’t replicate the real life experience you get from being at an event like that.

That’s why bringing people together and sharing ideas has always been at the heart of our mission. We truly believe that creativity thrives off engagement, inspiration and connections. From day one we made sure that we weren’t a closed-off workspace. Our doors are always wide open – especially to the local community they sit within.

We are currently building on our event schedule after it being non-existent for so long (due to obvious reasons). Through our Campfire Talks, we actively invite guest speakers to cover a wide range of topics. We also encourage members to get involved as well; to discuss personal projects or just share a bit of unique insight.

Allowing others to use our spaces to host their events has also really helped bring in a diverse mix of people and in-turn creates a more exciting calendar. We have recently seen panel discussions from Enviral and Finisterre, plus a wicked Office Party from our pals at Pirate Studios. This got us thinking, what’s next?

As we move into the new year, we’re expanding what our events programme looks like and we can’t wait to share this with you. We love watching this community grow and events are a massive part of that, so if you’ve got an event in mind, give us a shout! Our inbox is always open.

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