All posts tagged THECUBE

Dwell PR Joins THECUBE Coworking Space

Dwell PR adopts a social change approach to public relations.

We consider social issues in relation to a business product or service and use these perspectives to create brand awareness, change perceptions and increase sales for our clients. Working across sectors we provide a variety of services which include PR training for employees, internal communications consulting and media relations strategies that produce outcomes with purpose.

We welcome collaboration on projects where we can share as well as grow.

Dextra Associates Join THECUBE Coworking Space

Dextra Associates is a forward thinking, creative and passionate company, and is equally passionate about your business, and how it can be improved.

We pride ourselves on being there for our clients. We like to talk, so you can call us. We like to read, so mail us your thoughts, plans and dreams at any time. Want an impartial view? You’ll get the best we can offer in neutrality. At Dextra, it’s all in the name; we want to be your right hand man, at all times.

We’ve worked with companies and organisations of differing sizes, from multi-national’s to sole traders, size is not a criteria, hindrance or advantage in our eyes. We want to work with people who want to be impressed by results, surprised by statistics and have a positive frame of mind, or a mind that we can adapt!

Dextra Associates specialises in consulting and actioning business development practices for your business. Rather than split the traditional sales disciplines, we want to align them, to create the most efficient way of selling your business to the appropriate customer.

Lifestyle is our thing, we work with businesses that effect the way people live their lives and the bettering of them. From design practices, to property companies, to places to eat and drink, Dextra have worked with a variety of companies in this sector. If you think you company falls into this bracket, drop us a line. If it doesn’t, drop us a line anyway, talking is much underrated and something we like to do, whatever your enquiry, query or suggestion.

Contact

E – info@dextraassociates.com

T- +44 20 3239 1561

A – The Cube, 155 Commerical Street, City of London, E1 6BJ

How To Get The Best Out Of Coworking

As the trend of coworking continues to rise, why should you actually join? Below are some do’s and don’t about coworking, so you can get the best user experience.

Do’s

1. Introduce yourself to people in friendly and open manner
2. Be giving with your contact list
3. Look for a space that is open and clean, so you can focus and create better ideas
4. Listen to music, which stimulates you, but mind the volume.
5. Join in and contribute to events
6. Offer your knowledge and experience to others
7. Come with an open mind so you get as much feedback as possible.
8. Share your idea with others. You never know how people are connected, it may land you a resource or client.
9. Divide your coworking time with other spaces to give your brain and projects variety.
10. Join a space with a diverse community to build your resources, network, and knowledge.

Don’t

1. Sit in a corner with your headphones on and leave without engaging with anyone or the space .

Why Join A Coworking Space

1. Build contacts
2. Low overheads
3. Meet new people who can help grow and inspire your idea
4. Give your project focus

Happy New Year 2011 From THECUBE Coworking Space

Happy New Year!!!

We have a great year ahead of us, there many plans for THECUBE to transition from just being a coworking space into a place of innovation.

We will be interviewing CUBERS one year on to see how they have build their businesses. There are many more events to come with interesting speakers and topics. Finally, we will be introducing different platforms to instigate collaboration and ideas.

One of our CUBERS Alastair Dryburgh asked me a question when we were discussing goals -  What would you do if you couldn’t fail? Its big, so it really forces you to think outside comfortable parameters.

I think that will be our motto for 2011, so What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Fail?

We wish you a great new year.

THECUBE

Happy Holidays From THECUBE Coworking Space

Hello CUBERS,

We would like to wish you the very best holiday season and thank you for making this a great year for us!

This time of year is great to reflect on all the great things we have accomplished. Every business at our coworking space has weathered one of the most turbulent economic times, generated clients, and established a brand – that is worth recognizing.

Next year will birth new challenges and we will all rise to them, but for now its time to celebrate and look back at all the great things we have achieved.

Happy Holidays

- THECUBE

The coworking space will close Tuesday 21 of December and open again 3 January 2011.

Web Developers Round Table: What Type of Marketing Are You Using?

Every first Wednesday of the month web- developers get together at THECUBE and discuss pressing issues facing their industry. It is a great platform to air problems as well as get feed back from peers. Below is this month’s discussion and some of the points that were brought up. The discussion is led and developed by the team at WeMakeWebsites

  • Customer referalls are an easy and powerful way to generate new warm leads that are in a similar market to current customers and that you have domain knowledge of (assuming the referred customer is in the same market as the existing customer).
    • No reward required, most people will simply pass on or provide details when asked. They don’t do it without prompting simply because it’s not on their mind.
    • Referalls can be asked for informally, verbally at the end of a project, or as part of an end-of-project/feedback form (or both)
  • Use LinkedIn to find possible leads in second-order network. Ask for an introduction from people in your immediate network. Set the right psychology, if you expect to receive the expect to genuinely give, people are always more prone to help if they are feeling happy. If you introduce people through your linked in, people will naturally feel inclined to introduce you as well. When asking people for an introduction give a specific reason.
  • Attend networking events, not necessarily those related to your industry. E.g. attending a fashion or marine biologist networking event can provide a rich source of new contacts. Increase your ‘luck surface area’ through activities such as this.
  • Find a niche, create a story, show that you have knowledge and passion in a given domain and use this as part of a marketing campaign to appeal those within that market.
  • Write a book, send it out to a select set of contacts. Shows expertise, is out of the ordinary and provokes interest from the other party. Demonstrates domain knowledge.
  • Approach journals in a target industry and offer to write an article on something that you know about. Write objectively so that it doesn’t come across as an ad-vetorial. Make sure you a credited.
  • Give away some part of your service for free to let prospects get a taste of how you can help them.
  • Umbrellas! On a rainy day this have exposure to a large number of people and, well, everyone needs an umbrella at some point.
  • Use social networking tools like Dribbble to promote work without revealing all (either because you’d rather keep the product in stealth mode or because you can’t how all due to NDA). Use this technique on your own website to show work that isn’t launched yet for example.
  • Comment on blogs which are read by your clients to spread the word about your expertise.
  • Write a list of your most connected contacts and then ask them to introduce you to relevant people. Again be specific about how your service will help.
  • Network everywhere as everyone has connections, on the plane, at the gym, book club. Be strategic and find where your clients ‘hang-out’ and engage with them in a more casual level. An article based on networking from CFO of leading company.

About THECUBE

THECUBE is a coworking space which focuses on innovation and enterprise. We help our members by giving them tools top help catalyze great business ideas, which in turn creates innovative and sustainable business.

We also offer the standards of office life such as, desk- space, boardroom hire, fax, photocopying, tea and coffee. We are conveniently located in Shoreditch on Commercial Street E1, so its perfect for City and Creative access.

Innovation in Art

Art by Benjamin Buckley

Being creative is using imagination. Being creative is about trial and error. Being creative is noticing an issue and taking the initiative and courage to address it, voice it, change it or fight against it. Innovation is the carrying out of combined ideas. It is the process and the result, the production line that assembles ideas and ensures they are successfully intertwined to make something new, relevant and working. The results of innovation are not final nor is it the end. The result remains open for innovation to happen again.

Being open, is a valuable trait when generating ideas. Openness allows the unusual and the unconventional to intrude on the thought process, for influences to travel to and come from all areas of the globe. Openness allows you to contemplate on a range of choices whilst it gets you to break away from pattern and to embrace all forms of collaboration.

With art, the initial thought process starts with ideas that stem from emotion, opinion, situation and expression. These headings will produce an idea which will be unique to each artist, but sometimes projecting that idea in a visual way, and needing it to appeal to others may not represent or express individuality. This is where innovation is needed. The artist combines influences and ideas to make themselves and their visual voice stand as a unique one.

In my personal opinion I believe the process of innovation has to be a genuine one for it to be successful. There are artists who lack sincerity in their work and it shows. In a previous article What Should Art Do? I briefly touched upon on the thought that of late there had been a lot of art that was being produced for the reason of attention and not because it delivered a message, emotion or opinion. It is a though only half of the innovation production line is being used, the first half: The Idea. Art which has been designed with intent to exist for the sake of being new isn’t genuine art. Innovation should be the process of creativity and a result that works, not an idea that stands alone.

Our resident artist Benjamin Buckley’s has worked against conventional painting. He has chosen to paint without the physical brush. The technique he uses is one which involves drawing the images on a graphic tablet and is then printed off onto canvas using the Giclée fine art printing method. The images are then stretched and are followed by coats of Ketone resin and acrylic. Benjamin’s uses this technique so that he can make the images more intricate when looked at, and turns the digital process into a more delicate one. It means the images can be blown up to an incredible scale. He uses this labour intensive method as it uncovers the intricacy and detail in his “daydreams”. Ben’s intentions were to create a utopia formed from his imagination and dreams that doesn’t fit within reality but appeals and can be understood and rebuilt by the viewers imagination. Through his work you can see the evolution of several ideas. It has purpose,  it makes the viewer drift away into their imagination.

What is amazing about innovation is that it will constantly remain an ongoing process. We will see inventions go through transformation and evolution to become a product of someone’s creativity.

By Gabrielle Cooper

ABOUT THECUBE Gallery

THECUBE Coworking space acts as a platform for emerging artists. We showcase an artist on a monthly basis both to help young talent and to give the workspace a sense of change. We choose the artists based on their innovation and creativity rather than shock or monetary status.

During the day people are welcome to view the art and see it within the context of an office space or during a private view where they can interact with the artist. It is important for art to stimulate our members and be part of the space.

Collaboration in Coworking Spaces

Collaboration in coworking spaces seems to be a continual problem. On the one hand the member community has to come in and get on with their work and on the other people are coming to coworking spaces to find collaborators.

Solution 1

Create time during the month when members can move away from their desks and collaborate. Create events at different times of the day to vary the flow of people.

Solution 2

Create a space that is small enough to generate accidental or spontaneous collaboration.

Solution 3

Create a database from which to personally introduce members.

Solution 4

Look into tools that can facilitate collaboration

Solution 5

Create casual lounge areas in the space, which are conducive to conversation.

Resources

www.bracketprojects.co.uk

About THECUBE

THECUBE is a coworking space dedicated to innovation. We have a diverse community of entrepreneurs and freelancers as one of our core beliefs is that diversity drives ideas.

We have all the usual workspace and hotdesking facilities as well, from virtual office space to meeting hire.

155 Commercial Street, Studio 5, E1. Nearest tube station is Liverpool Street or Shoreditch High Street.

Art & Economy

Ben's Show 006 [800x600]

Art is the product of the opinions and a reflection of personality. Where we live and what we are surrounded by builds who we are so therefore Art must be a product of our Economy, right?

The most well known example of this is the Great Depression, where much of the art produced were ridden with politics, and expression-less or saddened faces.

The economy not only plays a part in the context and subject of the Art piece but in how it is actually formed and created. The economy forces an artist to either think outside the box or take their ideas back to the very basics, simplifying them. It can limit, and create controlled brackets in which the work must abide by of is forced to fit within.

For Artists it is easy to become frustrated at what you can not do due to our economic climate, but it is a contribution to our art that should be accepted more. It should be embraced as it is what makes the Art resident to the moment, and expressive not just of the artist but of what surrounds the artist.

Our resident Artist Benjamin Buckley’s paintings describe thoughts of a dream world, a way of escape. It is almost as though he constructs each scene in his head cautiously as to not overload the images. They remind us of objects in our reality as well as letting us (its viewers) to slip into their own perception of its represented ideas. It is as though Benjamin is allowing us to escape the reality of the economy through the lavish and beautiful architecture within the images. His painting Slum-dog Tapestry appears slightly different from his other paintings as its a lot more chaotic and busy but in the middle stands a large grand figure, that almost stands as a means of escape. It resides in the middle of painting pulling us in, distracting us from the chaos.

There is also comfort in knowing that in each of his painting’s there is a finite world, one that we can control, which is soothing and releaving in these types. All of THECUBE members have spent a many a time contemplating and enjoying the work as the tinker away at their laptops.

In our current economic climate with much of the Art funds being cut and many protests currently taking place it will be exciting to see the work that it will inspire and restrict. We may see a new genre of art emerging.

By Gabrielle Cooper resident curator

REWARDROBE Joins THECUBE Coworking Space

Rewardrobe-Avatar-400x400
Personal Style + Image Consultancy. We review your wardrobe so it will be the best boutique for you to shop in – We help you develop your own individual and unique style, for you to feel comfortable in every situation and to project the right image when at work or doing business. We help you optimise your spendings by maximising the use of clothes you already own, styling them into new and exciting combinations.
We also do this with a ‘slow wear’ approach: we believe in responsible shopping and sustainable and natural wardrobe management.

Free initial consultation for anybody who’d like to know more.Winners of the 2010 Future100 awards for innovative social enterprises.