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Thanks to Abigail Carmichael for the invite and Ella Sibley from HCA what talent there was!
Big thanks to all who attended the Clerkenwell Showrooms Gathering last week at Bisley Showroom.
As usual, it was a very friendly gathering of familiar faces and quite a few new faces.
Interface was the showroom hosting the CS Gathering - June 20th 24.
Amina and Jovita provided a fabulous buffet and full account of Interface the company and its long history. The large open showroom has excellent daylight and was arranged with an outdoor terrace.
Jeremy welcomed new CS Members who introduced themselves to the group. We also heard from Liz Walker who leaves Orangebox this week but will stay with CS as an honorary member.
With Clerkenwell Design Week just passed, the group discussed their experiences of the show. Generally, it was a step forward in the recovery of Clerkenwell as a trade destination despite rainy weather which always impacts visitor numbers.
The main event for this CS Gathering was to hear more about the London Design Festival (LDF) event in September.
Jeremy has had numerous conversations with the LDF Marketing team as well as other Design Districts. A plan is forming to make Clerkenwell a Design District again - this time supporting Design Graduates through various platforms and initiatives. We will engage with LDF for 2025 - to support their Launchpad programme.
The final Q&A confirmed that most of the showrooms were in support of the CS/LDF collaboration with much discussion given as to how each showroom may play a part supporting Design Students and Universities going forward.
”Clerkenwell Showrooms has exciting potential to help and nurture next generation talent - for the benefit of all” - Jeremy
So, my thanks again to Jowita and Amina at Interface and until the next…
For more information please contact:
Jeremy - Clerkenwell Showrooms for Membership and Presentation slides
Marcos Bevilaqua - Photography
Another strong turnout for CS Gathering - this time in the prominent Frem Showroom on Clerkenwell Rd.
Big thanks to our generous host - Frem Group, Richard, Stephen and their team.
As usual, we began with a host introduction with Stephen discussing Frem history and new Italian alliances and Richard providing tours of the showroom.
Jeremy welcomed new CS Members who introduced themselves to the group. He also touched on fast-growing CS Share and CS Recruit Services.
With Clerkenwell Design Week just around the corner, Jeremy reminded the group to use their CS Membership resources such as; Yellow Flags (for those not using pink flags) and CS Whats App for last-minute suppliers and services.
The main event for this CS Gathering was to hear more about London Design Festival (LDF) the big Design event in September.
Our guest speaker, Lucy from LDF provided an overview of the show’s history and the wide range of activities expected for this year.
Jeremy added to LDF story with news that LDF and CS are collaborating to enable the creation of ‘Clerkenwell Showrooms District’ as the future ‘home’ for UK Design Students.
The final Q&A confirmed that most of the showrooms were in support of the CS/LDF collaboration with much discussion given to how each showroom may play a part supporting their local Universities.
”Clerkenwell Showrooms are beginning to see the power of Community and especially when we take United Action how we can raise the profile of the District - for the benefit of all” - Jeremy
So until the next…
For more information please contact:
CS Membership and Presentation slides
Jeremy - Clerkenwell Showrooms
London Design Festival 2024 Partner Programme
Lucy - London Design Festival
Stephen discussing new Italian Partners
Another CS Gathering has come and gone - but what an evening it was!
Big thanks to our generous host - Orangebox and the team; Liz, Molly and Jordan!
In typical fashion, we began with a host introduction from Liz and showroom tours from Molly.
Jeremy welcomed new CS Members who introduced themselves to the group. He also touched on new CS Share and Recruit Services that started this year and are growing quickly.
Our main event for this CS Gathering was to go deep on Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW 24) starting with Molly who provided ‘tips and tricks’ session for all new showroom participants.
Karen from Beacon Security described the many health and safety considerations for CDW which are often overlooked.
Jeremy touched on future events including New Designers in June and LDF in September.
A final big thanks to everyone who came - it was quite a crowd - and Orangebox for the drinks and especially to Jordan for creating the lovely cold buffet spread!
”Its lovely to see so many showroom people finding friends here at CS especially younger staff who now can find similar age groups working nearby” - Jeremy
So until the next…
For more information please contact:
CS Membership and Presentation slides
Jeremy - Clerkenwell Showrooms
CDW Tips and Tricks Presentation
Molly - Orangebox
CDW Health and Safety Consultancy
Karen - Beacon Facilities
Karen providing H&S Risk Assessment Presentation
The CS core group met at the Bisley showroom on 15h Feb to review 2023/4 and discuss plans for the year ahead.
Growing together as a community is at the forefront of this group.
Stay tuned for a lot more from Clerkenwell Showrooms this year and do contact founder Jeremy Lee to learn more.
Agenda:
1. CS New Members:
Modulyss - Flooring
MDK - Chairs
Fritz Fryer - Lighting
Shaw Contract - Flooring
Susannah Hall - Tailor
Interface - Flooring
2. CS Gatherings Lining up CS Members for CS Gatherings...
- no charge for events
- will seek a guest speaker for each event
- other inclusions to the agenda?
- next CS Gathering at Orangebox in March
3. CS Open Events
- BDC Workspace design
- CDW briefing
- New Designers - JL to discuss student showroom idea with ‘Immediate’ the event organisers.
4. CS - New Services
- CS Share - now running for exhibitors and showrooms
- CS Recruit - now set up for members
- CS Forum - new idea to garner intelligence on wide range of topics from members
Attending:
JEREMY - Clerkenwell Showrooms
EMILY - Bisley
LIZ - Orangebox
MOLLY - Orangebox
URVA - Milliken
Thanks to Emily at Bisley for Hosting the CS Core Team Meeting on 15th February 2024!
Big thanks to Molly for arranging a table at The Fence.
It was the first CS Social - a gathering with no agenda beyond enabling a place to meet and catch up with news.
We plan to do more in 2024 - with a new venue for each occasion.
Big thanks to all who attended the Clerkenwell Showrooms Gathering this week at Bisley Showroom.
As usual, it was a very friendly gathering of familiar faces and a few new contacts.
September 7, 2023
Big thanks to all who attended the Clerkenwell Showrooms Gathering this week at Camira Contract Showroom. It was a colourful and unusually warm Summer evening!
In particular, my persona thanks to Agnese, our wonderful host and Ray O Neill our guest speaker.
Over 20 attendees meant this event was well attended by local showroom managers inc; Wagstaff, Bolon, Bisley, Ocee+Four, Milliken, Orangebox, Frem, Altro, Ideal Standard, Verco, Vescom and more.
Itinerary for the Camira CS Gathering:
Jeremy - Clerkenwell Showrooms overview
- The full CS Presentation will be sent to all attendees.
Host
Camira Fabrics - Agnese provided an overview of Camira’s brand and long history.
Forthcoming Events:
London Design Festival - a preview of the 16-24th September event activities
Clerkenwell Design Trail - a preview of the 4-5th October event activities
- JL encouraged CS Members to support events with the view that next year we will make a greater commitment to LDF.
Learning Event:
CS - Video Podcast Concept (Ray from Strip Studios)
- Ray provided an overview of professional video podcasting set-up and outcomes.
- He also offered to visit all showrooms to identify video opportunities
- JL suggested that CS will be happy to discuss; Media Training, Facilitating, Video Production ideas as needed.
Other News:
CS - Welcome to new Members (Mashkhura from Ocee Design, Emily from Bisley)
CS - WhatsApp SOS Test Day - Date TBC
Open floor for any other business/suggestions
- JL touched on the necessity for showroom marketing to support all CS Open events. To that end, CS will be preparing template marketing material to help showrooms support future CS Open events.
Finally, we have taken on board the ideas expressed at the Gatherings to pull together a super simple CS WhatsApp User Guide.
How simple?
A mere three TXT codes to remember and you will be good to go!
Please use the following TXT protocol at the beginning of urgent security messages:
SOS - {name of showroom} for immediate assistance from other showrooms
IMPORTANT: Upon seeing this text we ask that all showrooms nearby reply and send someone quickly to assist.
Please use the following TXT protocol at the beginning of social messaging:
FYI - for general information sharing
ASK - for any info/help assistance
Full Guide Here.
Thanks to all who attended the Milliken CS gathering last week - but especially Urva, our wonderful host.
We had a few new showrooms participate at this event including; Bisley, Formica, Marazzi and Gabriel.
Itinerary for the Milliken CS Gathering:
Jeremy - Clerkenwell Showrooms overview
- Please see attached the full CS Presentation - which covers the CS short history.
CDW’23 - Showroom Review
- Much was said about the CDW 23 show - regarding turnout, weather and quality of leads.
Harris Academy - Liz Walker
- LIz introduced Harris Academy to the group and explained how it is seeking mentors to assist young people seeking career advice. Please contact Liz for more info.
Lone Worker Workshop test day and feedback
- Urva picked up on the lone worker policy and the CS WhatsApp that will be tested over Autumn.
Open floor for any other business/suggestions
- William Knight (ex Media 10, now Material Matters) made several suggestions on how CS can succeed with growth and future challenges.
Next CS Open - New Designers BDC
- Urva mentioned how Milliken uses Graduates and the opportunities this creates.
- Jeremy touched on the exciting possibilities for the CS Open to support New Designers BDC - starting in earnest from 2024.
All,
Thanks to all for attending the CS Gathering at Orangebox last week!
1. Host: Liz Walker (Orangebox)
Big thanks to Liz Walker for hosting the CS Gathering and providing a full bar and catering for the event.
Orangebox is one of Clerkenwells largest showrooms and is a founding member of Clerkenwell Showrooms.
2. Lone Worker Workshop: Urva Soni (Milliken)
Urva made a powerful presentation of the need to establish a 'Lone Worker' policy in every showroom. Dedicating Milliken's management resources, their policy document covers many of the security issues faced during Covid but also continue today. Urva explained that "while every showroom is different, many of the risks are the same".
Liz also volunteered the Orangebox lone worker policy document to provide yet another example for our members to share.
Jeremy reminded the group that the 'CS WhattsApp' is used to provide a means of alert for the community. "We encourage simple 'TXT' shorthand eg 'SOS' for immediate assistance or 'FYI' for general info"
Attachments:
Milliken - Lone Worker.pdf
Orangebox - Lone Worker.pdf
3. Catering:
Orangebox kindly provided catering supplied by 'Clerkenwell Kitchens' run by Emma who provided a fabulous buffet of cold food.
We will be adding Clerkenwell Kitchens to our CS Friends section on the CS website.
4. CS Presentation:
Jeremy made a short presentation (attached) of Clerkenwell Showrooms mission and its achievements over its short 2yr history. Our members are growing and we have ambitious plans for the future.
Attachments:
OB'23 presentation-v1.pdf
5. Next Steps:
Please feedback if you need any further information on any of the items covered.
Thanks again for attending and I hope to see you all again over the next event which is CDW '23.
A big thanks to all for coming to CS Gathering at Frem Group.
It was great to see familiar as well as new faces at this Gathering. As usual we discussed past events as well as future plans - and for this year we have big ambitions.
Officially, CS will start 2023 with a plan to:
- Celebrate London events with CS Open running for the full week
- Start with CS Open for Surface Design in February 6 - 10
- Test CS WattsApp Group over Feb for showroom security
- Populate the calendar with CS Gatherings throughout 2023
- Liaise with Shoreditch Triangle for co-promotional ideas
- Utilise Old Sessions House as Clerkenwell's local events facility
Thanks again to Dave for hosting, Greg for Pizza and Frem tour support - and also Joe for VPS overview.
Finally, to Liz and Urva the CS Generals for ideas and high spirits.
Clerkenwell Showrooms was well represented during CDW22 with many CS window stickers and flags seen across the district!
Each CS Gathering is held in a different showroom location after a trade event and in this case at the lovely Milliken showroom after the CDW22 event. The idea for the CS Gathering is to provide an opportunity for CS members to discuss what has been learned from past events, and also to share new ideas and initiatives that are put forward.
On this occasion, there was much debate on the various ways CS can make Clerkenwell safer, more efficient, and as can be seen from the photos more social!
A great CS Gathering at Milliken with the sentiment best summed up by our host:
"You all showed so much enthusiasm and passion for the Clerkenwell community, and our industry.
I can safely say, we are all looking for support, ideas/suggestions, and willingness to drive business through our showrooms. Our collective voices can make a huge difference, with a bit of effort from us all!" - Urva Soni
From this meeting, Clerkenwell Showrooms discussed new initiatives for 22/23 including:
1. CS Alert
Much needed by showrooms that have single-person staffing. A WhatsApp group to enable showroom participants to quickly communicate to nearby members on security or logistic matters.
2. CS Calendar
A central calendar for events and other CS activities.
3. CS Friends
Friends of the CS Community (local clubs, bars, hotels, and restaurants) will be listed and featured in CS literature.
4. CS Exchange
A matching service for showrooms to request or place products and materials within the district for cross-promotion purposes.
5. CS Student Tours
A plan to provide annual student tours of the showrooms with the longer-term ambition that the students will remember and learn from their experiences and support the district in the future.
So with so much on the ‘To Do’ list, we now need to bring in volunteers to help see through plans and projects. In addition, a steering group will be formed to manage priorities and budgets. Anyone who wishes to participate, please make yourself known.
Quite apart from the significant work in progress, it was evident that for all who share a passion for Clerkenwell, the social component was as important which makes for an enjoyable meet up.
The next CS Gathering will be held at Billi showroom in October date TBC.
Well, Clerkenwell Showrooms (CS) is finally off to the races…as the evening gathering at Orangebox was well attended in spite of a sudden surge in Omicron cases.
Jeremy greets an enthusiastic crowd at Orangebox
There has been several attempts to start a community in the Clerkenwell District, and for various reasons they have not continued. Jeremy was unsure as to whether an appetite to start one now exists, until that is, the launch at Orangebox took place.
Liz Walker, Orangebox showroom manager provided generous support for the first CS meeting with the fabulous presentation facilities and her lovely staff on hand.
Urva Soni, Milliken showroom manager said it best ‘I thought it was a really good turnout, with so much positivity. It was nice to meet and connect with other showroom owners/managers and put some faces to names.”
Clerkenwell Showrooms - lets talk design by Matthew at Rivington Bye
Matthew, Design Director at Rivington Bye led the charge that at CS we get out what we put in - and in terms of design that can range from very simple to high-end collectibles. Ideas for consideration included, pocket maps, coasters, planners, and calendars - all serving as CS branded keepsakes that help trade visitors remember their trip and better navigate the ancient district.
Liz at Orangebox touched on the idea of mentoring for newcomers to the area.
In short, we possibly gathered too many ideas for the start of the CS community, but it is hard to resist when met with such a positive crowd. It points to the very real need we all feel after years of isolation, to get back to work and start collaborating face-to-face again.
A few CS Member initiatives were set out:
- CS A5 window stickers to signal official Member / Friend status
- CS Flag to signal participation of CS Open during all trade events
- Giveaway Map to assist with showroom wayfinding
The next CS Gathering will be held in mid June after CDW at Milliken
For all showrooms that attended, a big thank you for setting in motion the CS community.
Next Steps…
For those that were unable to attend please ensure you are on our mailing list by sending your details to: info@clerkenwellshowrooms.com or lookout for the next CS Event or email invitation.
Photography Credits: Marcos Bevilacqua
Not all ideas suggested were taken seriously…
Clerkenwell Showrooms - Together is Better