The Blog

Finding Your Treasure With Steve Edge

By Araceli On February 15, 2012 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to Finding Your Treasure With Steve EdgePermalink

THECUBE is incredibly excited to be hosting a talk with designer, Steve Edge. He will be speaking about the importance of finding what you love. If you truly love what you do and you are good at it – you have “Found Your Treasure”.

What is really inspiring about Steve is that he lives his life with absolute gusto.  He started with a fishing pole  & paint brush, progressing to working with George Lucas & Steven Spielberg to now being one of the most influential designers in the UK – all through having found his treasure. His story is fueled by the fact that he is a local East End boy and  a true dandelion child.

We asked Steve to talk about how he found his treasure and how he has been able to hold on to it…..it’s definitely a unique way of living life!

Finding Your Treasure
22 February 2011
6:30 – 8:00 ( then drinks at the Commercial Tavern )

About THECUBE

THECUBE is an innovation space in East London and we are now working on giving our members events that will inspire them.  As inspiration is the full for innovation and growth.

Private View: Art For Environmental Change

By Araceli On February 13, 2012 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to Private View: Art For Environmental ChangePermalink

THECUBE is incredibly excited to be presenting the next artist to the space. Shamas Bedi is a recent graduate, who combines his art with environmental efforts, we asked to write about how art can help communicate conservation efforts….his story is below.

Private View
1 March 2012
6:30-8:30
@THECUBE

Here we are. Cells in this pumping organism we call Earth, our home.

We call her home, yet millions of us are still ignorant to the damage that our ‘home’ faces every single day. Now if the 6.5 billion people on Earth suddenly realised how much destruction is caused to the environment daily, then we could prevent ourselves from going down the perilous road we are accelerating on at present. If not, it will be too late within this next century.

Our planet has a miraculous yet fragile ability to support life, and this life is comprised of microscopic bacteria, to 200 tonnes of Blue Whale. Sometimes we forget that we are not alone on this planet, we are all connected. If the Earth is envisaged as an organism, the multiplicities of life are the cells within this organism, keeping it living and breathing. However, if humans continue to mindlessly consume whatever sources that remain, we will reach the point of no return. To be sustainable is to meet our current needs without jeopardising the future of the next generation, and what better way to communicate these problems then the use of Art and Design. Taking action on these issues single handedly would be almost impossible, but to communicate and create awareness about sustainability to the masses is a much wiser force to be reckoned with. Producing visually aesthetic images doesn’t always have to be to sell material goods, but can also be used to send a powerful message. To enrich the knowledge for the youthful generation of artists, that will then be inspired from a younger age to help the Earth and the life on it.

The power of design is underestimated. Design around the world is now slowly transforming, and people are beginning to realise how we can help the environment, rather than destroy it through thoughtless deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. We share the Earth with thousands of species of plant and animal life, and as a higher being it is our duty to save them and maintain this responsibility for our future generations.

Visually communicating sustainability is not a simple task. However if done successfully, can be one of the strongest, if not the strongest tool for a campaign against global warming. To create an image that has an important effect on the viewers’ perception is the first step for a change in their lifestyle. It is the environment as a whole which we have to think about, and all the creatures within it. For if we are to eliminate a species from the system, others species will surely be affected, including ourselves. This is an exhibition of an evolution. How from it’s playful, humble beginnings, ones art begins to form a sense of purpose. The passion and skill that has developed, provides the opportunity to spread the thoughts and raise awareness about what one really wants to help achieve; a safer, more creative Earth.

About THECUBE

THECUBE is an innovation space in East London and we sponsor emerging artists. The art is curated by how it affects innovation within the space as well as having an intelligent commentary.

I am London Private View

By Araceli On February 1, 2012 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to I am London Private ViewPermalink

23rd February 2012
6:30-9:00
@THECUBE

Studio 5
155 Commercial Street
E1 6BJ

THECUBE London is pleased to announce ” I am London”, an exhibition of photography, illustration, and graphic design that looks at describing what it is to be a young Londoner.  The images are those from the collective of young artist using their work to explore, respond, describe and answer questions and problems facing everyday in London. This group of artist is a mixture of those born and raised in London and those having only moved here a few years ago.

Shoreditch Fringe 2012

By Araceli On January 31, 2012 In Blog With 1 Comment Permanent Link to Shoreditch Fringe 2012Permalink

We are excited to announce that  the guys at Idea Generation are putting the first fringe festival in East London. It is a great idea to bring together all of the diversity and richness of the area. They  will have over 100 leading cultural organisations and businesses – from Vice & Village Underground through to Hackney Empire & Hackney Council – have joined together in support of the development of a Shoreditch Fringe Festival for the Summer of 2012.

Inspired by the spirit of the pioneers of the original Edinburgh Fringe festivals, the aim for the Shoreditch Fringe is to have an impact beyond both the borough and 2012 – creating an enduring legacy to build audiences for arts & culture.

For programmers, the Shoreditch Fringe will provide a framework & platform from which to promote their events to audiences; fast-track applications to the council; and share ideas with other venues & promoters – with all registration fees being directed toward the marketing & support of the programme.

For audiences, the Shoreditch Fringe will provide a hub of easy-to-access information, ideas & tickets – enabling them to explore the beating cultural & creative heart of London.

The resulting programme will be an all-inclusive 100 day cultural festival (from the Queen’s Jubilee super-bank holiday weekend on 1st Jun through to the end of the Paralympic Games on 9th Sep), showcasing all that the creative heart of London has to offer during the Summer of 2012.Preparing For The Biggest Cultural Event In London’s History

“The idea for the Shoreditch Fringe came from a group of local galleries, bars & businesses” comments spokesperson Auro Foxtrot, “all of whom were independently developing their own ideas to engage and entertain the crowds that will be in town for the 2012 celebrations next summer.”

“Instead of working independently, the Fringe can enable us to work together. We hope to bring the entire community together, creating a focal point around which everyone can share ideas, co-programme and make some noise.

“For a small registration fee, we aim to provide more than fringe benefits – a mixture of support, advice, networking, marketing and publicity.

“Reflecting the DIY DNA of the borough, the Shoreditch Fringe will be open to any type of event from across the creative & cultural spectrum – visual art, music, comedy, cabaret, craft, literature, poetry, food, film, theatre, dance, digital, design and debate.

“And in keeping with the spirit of the spectrum of 2012 celebrations, this rich variety of events will cater for every type of audience – local and London-wide; national & international; children & adults; experimental & mainstream.”

Registration Now Open

“We put the idea of a fringe to a small network of local businesses a few weeks ago – and the response was one of unanimous & overwhelming interest & excitement; within a month have attracted over a 100 supporters already working together to develop their programmes.

“We’re now opening it up to the community at large to ensure that there is sufficient demand for the idea before aiming to press the green button in January.

“The network is now open – at www.yammer.com/shoreditchfringe – and all venues, programmers and artists interested in participating are encouraged to sign-up before December 23rd. Get involved now!”

More than Fringe Benefits

A not-for-profit venture, the Shoreditch Fringe aims to provide benefit the broadest possible number of groups over both the short & longer term:

For Venues & Programmers:

- High profile online platform from which to promote their venue – Marketing & PR campaign support – Direct advice & fast-track processing for applications from Hackney Council – Networking & introduction opportunities via online community & special events – Long term, deeper community ties

For Visitors to London:

- Clear information straight from the heart of London’s cultural hub – Ideas across the spectrum of arts & entertainment – Simple ticketing process & special offers – Additional ideas & suggestions to visit the rest of London & the UK – A more varied & enjoyable visit to London & the UK

For Creative Community:

- Audience development & marketing support – A case-study template for community programming – A platform for London-wide collective marketing – The development of a legacy nation-wide fringe database

Looking Ahead At 2012

By Araceli On January 1, 2012 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to Looking Ahead At 2012Permalink

Dear CUBERS,

We are excited about what is ahead for the year 2012! Firstly we would like to thank you for choosing THECUBE once again to be part of  your entrepreneurial journey.

Over the last two years THECUBE has built its reputation on housing an exceptional entrepreneurial community, this is something we would like to continue to foster as well as create new ways to collaborate and innovate.

Looking Ahead
1. Virgin Innovation Lab: We will start with PLATYPUS to begin our rapport with the Virgin brand. This will bring new and interesting opportunities to the members. This partnership will showcase for the first time how corporations can collaborate and nourish entrepreneurial communities like THECUBE.

2. Pro Bono Projects: To continue building on THECUBE’s community we will be working with charities and NGO’s, who are creating an impact in their fields. The first one is Khulisa, who brought down the crime rate in South Africa and now is building their brand in the UK. The role of THECUBE will be to help these NGO’s & charities on a pro bono basis with strategy, branding, and digital media. We believe that we are now in a position as a business and community to create a strong and unique CSR platform.

3. International Collaborations: We are looking forward to creating projects which will bring NYC together with London as well as announce our partnerships with entrepreneurial communities in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Rwanda.

4. Inspiration: If THECUBE were a person it could not be faulted for its intellectual abilities and nerdiness, however this year we want to bring more inspiration to the space. Telling the story better, bringing inspirational speakers to the space, and sharing more CUBER stories.

We wish our entire CUBER community a prosperous, happy, and fulfilling 2012.

Thank You.

How An Entrepreneur Divides His Time Between His Start-Up & A Charity

By Araceli On December 19, 2011 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to How An Entrepreneur Divides His Time Between His Start-Up & A CharityPermalink

One of our CUBERS, Ashwin Saddul founder of  mobile strategy agency, Better Than Paper shares his time between his start up and a Charity. The charity has just been featured on the BBC and it focuses on helping street children in India.

If you would like to get involved, we have christmas cards at THECUBE.

Why did you start the charity?

  • After spending many years in advertising, the realisation my job will never make the world a better place
  • To make a visible difference to people who really need it by focusing on one particular cause instead of many
  • Had to create a balance between giving and taking
  • I have Indian heritage with family in India where poverty is a huge issue.
  • After being exposed to very bleak poverty -seeing and hearing, first hand, the personal stories of human suffering & tragedy, we became even more emotionally connected to the cause
  • To come back to England after our experience and continue as normal would be a travesty – to help educate people at home and give them a channel to contribute was the right thing to do
  • We met with like minded people who had similar experiences to us and wanted to continue their support in some way when they returned to England – this made it easier to motivate us all to do something. Easier said than done !

2 How does giving back influence the business ?

  • Not much influence yet as we’re in the early stages of launching both
  • The charity and my business are entirely separate at the moment – this means separate conversations with different clients or donors. There are no mentions of the charity on our company website yet.
  • As we are a new business, our client relationships are only starting to develop. Although some of my clients have donated, generally I don’t feel comfortable discussing it with them otherwise i feel i might be trying to off-load too much too soon or emotionally blackmail them ! One strategy would be to start donating a small percentage of profits back to the charity – but we’re a long way from that yet.
  • From a personal point of view, i feel more emotionally balanced and confident when approaching clients - the charity gives whilst the running our business means a lot of pitching which is one-sided to a certain extent.

3 How is change generated ?

  • Broad question, depends on the type of change desired and where it is directed. From a business and charity point of view: Its about value exchange /  mutual benefit. If you can communicate with clarity so people understand the immediate benefits of how a change in their behaviour (could be a change in purchase behaviour) could benefit everyone then i think that is a powerful tool in generating change. There are obvious mechanisms to achieve this such as advertising ( there – advertising isn’t so bad after all is it ??!)

The Idea
We always encourage CUBERS to do something else along side their enterprise to keep the brain open and scanning for new things. It is all well and good to stay focused on the goal, however this often creates tunnel vision, which can lead entrepreneurs to miss opportunities.

IFE Projects Offering Support To Young Fashion Entrepreneurs

By Araceli On December 14, 2011 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to IFE Projects Offering Support To Young Fashion EntrepreneursPermalink
CUBER, Bukola Dagiloke is the founder and CEO of IFE Projects, which is a company that helps young people break into the fashion industry. Their latest project is are below….
IFE Projects are now running Independent Fashion Entrepreneur Training and Innovative Fashion Enterprise Development courses, for more detail follow this link :http://www.theifeelexperience.com/ifespotlight.php?action=fullnews&id=64 Please get in contact if you would like to find out more information.
We also have opportunities for fashion creatives to get involved in workshops and other paid projects on a freelance basis and we have some intern roles available in 2012. More information about these opportunities can be found here: http://www.theifeelexperience.com/joinus.html

About THECUBE

THECUBE is a coworking space that houses diverse entrepreneurs and helps create community via events and curated introductions.

How Collaboration Works At THECUBE

By Araceli On December 12, 2011 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to How Collaboration Works At THECUBEPermalink

We asked CUBER Jonathan Lister to tell who he has collaborated at THECUBE. Below is his story.

Who have you collaborated at THECUBE?
I have collaborated with a wide range of people from digital to coworking, below are some of the projects.

Richard White – SeenOnScreenFitness.com
Charlotte Hambly – SweetSpot.com print brochures
Alison Coward – a project proposal Alison was working on
Adam Austin – SEO proposal for SweetSpot
Araceli Camargo – Coworking plans

Would you collaborate again?
Yes!

Why do we encourage our members to collaborate?

THECUBE’s reputation is highly founded on its community. We have worked meticulously to create a space that supports collaboration. Our members generate business leads, bid for jobs together, and share skills. When you are starting a business it can be a lonely process and you need people around you to stimulate ideas and help you generate contacts.

How we create collaboration
1. THECUBE is small and open plan, this helps take  away anonimity and thus encourages people to introduce each other

2. We set up curated introductions amongst our members and outside contacts

3. We hold monthly lunches and roundtables where members can meet each other and share ideas.

About THECUBE

THECUBE is coworking space in Shoreditch, East London dedicated to collaboration, building sustainable businesses, and driving innovation.

Accounting Clinic 15th Dec @ THECUBE

By Araceli On December 1, 2011 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to Accounting Clinic 15th Dec @ THECUBEPermalink

Cube members FKGB Accountants will be hosting an accounting clinic on 15th December from 2-6pm @ The Cube.

FKBG are offering Cube members a free 25 minute consultation aimed specifically at advising members of their obligations with the upcoming personal tax deadline on 31st January 2012.

Any members who wish to discuss other accounting issues that they have are also welcome.

Places are limited so if you wish to book a 25 minute slot please do so by contacting Gary Bloch direct… gary.bloch@fkgb.co.uk.

3 Questions With ArtDriver

By Araceli On November 14, 2011 In Blog With No Comments Permanent Link to 3 Questions With ArtDriverPermalink

We have asked our member Oleksiy Synelnychenko the CEO of  ArtDriver to answer three questions.

What are you working on?

In addition to helping a number of innovative startups and charities with their  web development and SEO projects, I’ve been working on our own Internet startup that will incorporate online booking, ratings and reviews for Kyiv, Ukraine restaurants. As you know, Kyiv will be hosting Euro 2012 European Football Championship in the summer 2012, and it is essential to help this city to accommodate the needs of hundreds of thousands of English speaking sport fans who will ascend upon the Ukraine’s capital and will be looking for places to eat.

2. What is the book that changed your life?

One book that comes to mind and really stands out is “The World is Flat” by Thomas Freedman. The author described the importance of globalisation and how countries, companies, communities, and individuals can and must adapt to it in order to be successful or “put it straight” survive in the modern and rapidly changing world.

3. What is THECUBE?

The very name of this place makes me think that I am a part of something great, a place that allows me to immerse myself into the world of creativity and become a part of the community of entrepreneurs. THECUBE also helps me to run my startup business efficiently, share my ideas and meet new people.

About ArtDriver
We are masters of utilising SEO and social media marketing to position our clients’ websites in top search results as well as increase clickthrough and conversion rates. ArtDriver provides Internet marketing services and carries out SEO strategies with a military precision.

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