Now I don’t think anyone would argue that this lovely city isn’t drenched in a rather vibrant history. However an exhibition currently showing at the Museum of Nottingham Life in Brewhouse Yard is focussing on local memories and memorabilia of the somewhat infamous Hyson Green Flats. For those who are young of the mind – they once stood on the current ASDA site in Hyson Green.

“On The Flats” is ran by the Hyson Green History Project and documents residents recounts of growing up and living in the flats.

Within it, you’ll also be able to see “treasures from the Flats including a piece of concrete that was salvaged when the Flats were demolished in 1988, a street sign and a 1970s vibro massager”.

There will also be historical photographs of Hyson Green and information about the flats, including key events like the 1981 Nottingham Riots and ‘Blues’ music parties.

All in all, the exhibit is well worth a trip to in order to see a slice of Nottingham’s modern history before it’s resigned to the record books and distant memories forever.

It runs until January 15th, with the museum being closed on 24, 25, 26 and 27 December 2011 and 1 and 2 January 2012.

For more information on the project, go to http://hysongreenhistory.org/

Photo credit to: http://hysongreenhistory.org/exhibition-starts-saturday-19th-november

If you read this blog, chances are good that you’ll already know Nottingham folk as an enterprising, inspiring bunch. Well, I hate to reinforce that stereotype (actually, I don’t hate it at all!) because here is another incredible tale of Nottingham tenacity, determination and lunacy.

Do you know the tuk-tuk? Half moped, half taxi, the tuk-tuk is a symbol of India, and great fun for the occasional journey across town, if you’re not especially safety conscious, and if you’re not that into comfortable travel. Having said that, how about long-distance travel in one? Down to London? Further – maybe down to Folkstone? Aw, heck, let’s just drive it to New Delhi! That’s what I can only imagine the conversation must have been like between these four friends. Sanjay, Mukesh, Kelham and Johnny are four Nottingham residents who, following Kelham’s father’s death through cancer, decided to drive this serious mission all the way to India to raise awareness and money for charity.

And so the Slow Train to India project was born. Across England, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran and finally into India! Personally, you might just be able to convince me to make the trip in a luxury air-conditioned car, but they do say that genius and madness are closely aligned. The tuk-tuk, christened the Flying  Rani, has so far covered over 5,000 miles in pursuit of the goal, and should be reaching the coast of India almost as I type. They’ve faced temperatures of up to 50 degrees, mountainous deserts and hills, the agony of Iranian customs and a few personal crises along the way:

I have a splitting headache at the moment and suspect my BP is sky high. I think the vast scale of the trip is starting to take it toil and I am beginning to think I just want to be with my family now, enough is enough. But  I have to be strong and want to complete the trip. Rani is doing well and there is not much more to go…

So, with a week left to go on the trip, there’s still plenty of time to check out the blog and donate to loads of good causes… Here’s hoping Flying Rani and the team make it back okay! Follow their progress on twitter and Facebook, and check out some previous press coverage here.

From the utterly fascinating record and book shops on Mansfield Road, to the wonderful independent restaurants in town, what makes a place stand out is not only the product, the outcome, but the service and the sense of value.

As a creative, I hope what I do is well crafted and appreciated, but as a business, design isn’t art. It’s a service as much as a product, and working with the client, the process is as important as the outcome. You can go online and order a logo for as little as $25 nowadays, but my clients value the relationship, the process, and ultimately the stronger product.

An expensive meal, with wonderful ingredients and faultless preparation can be ruined by location or service. I bet a cheap Wetherspoon’s burger tastes better when served with a smile. We often judge value based on more than just product.

I had a fascinating talk with a fellow designer who introduced me to the concept of hygiene factors, qualities that should be a given, not sold as positives. Hospitals ought to be clean and supermarkets ought to be good value. The author and marketer Seth Godin talks of telling stories, selling journeys. If your competitor is cheap, go cheaper, but promote your better customer service.

Believing in what you do is key to not only providing a great product but also great service, and the process, the journey, provides the greatest sense of value to your customers.

One of my favourite shops in Nottingham is Danish Homestore, on Derby Road. It’s an enormous shop, maze-like, and crammed full of the most amazing original Danish furniture and homeware. Now 20 years old, and going strong, its success is down to understanding the market, providing a fantastic service, and offering a quality product. It also, crucially, recognises the importance of craft and journey. Last time I went, and bought myself a great little vintage armchair, I was shown around the workshop where they restore all their pieces. I love my new chair, full of character, a product of true craft, an investment, and ultimately better for the soul than Ikea.

Another favourite of mine, a true hidden gem, is a small cafe, really hidden away in West End Arcade, just off Market Square. Bringing a little vintage French charm to town, Aubrey’s Traditional Creperie is a work of art. The attention to detail, to the store, inside and out, the ingredients, the menu, the atmosphere, the service — all spot on. Not only are the galettes and crêpes ridiculously tasty, but you can lose yourself for a while, you genuinely buy into a story, an experience, even just for a few minutes.

Although the tourists looked happy enough, and the locals, in that rare sun, certainly were, I can’t help thinking the Market Square is nothing more than a theme park, it’s not got a story to share, it’s not celebrating a craft. I read a fantastic quote recently, by a product designer, that sums up for me how important process and value is alongside quality:

Design of ‘things’ is a lost cause. Product is a mere destination. Its the journey that people fall in love with. Design the journey. Lloyd Pennington

Being good isn’t enough anymore, that’s a given, you have go that extra mile. Or 1.6 kilometres if you’re in Aubrey’s.

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Got some hidden gems of your own to share? Please do.

Find me on Twitter at @marcusbatey.

Dodgebrawl

With barcamp fast approaching I believe it’s time to start organising something else!

My Roller Derby team The Nottingham Roller Girls are presenting a double header bout on 17th September at Skate Central Roller Rink in Sheffield. We’ll be making our debut on the trck taking on the Sheffield Steel Roller Girl’s B Team. Next up our coach Jammie Dodger has been busy organising the UK’s first co-ed bout! Average Joes vs. Globo Gym Purple Cobras. Following the exciting derby action is a proper old school Roller Disco. Can. Not. Wait.

Now I wasn’t sure what co-ed meant either. Basically it’s mixed sex. For the first time live in front of an audience girls AND boys from mixed teams will be playing hard hitting Roller Derby! We’ve got our Jammie Dodger leading up the Average Joe’s with lads and lasses from Manchester Roller Derby. Globo Gym Purple Cobras comprise skaters from Lincolnshire Bombers and Birmingham Blitz Dames.

If you’ve never seen a roller derby bout before you are in for a HUGE treat with this one!

Drew Barrymore brought out a film a few years ago called “Whip It” about Women’s Banked Track Roller Derby. It’s a really great film and well worth a watch. Drew directs it but also stars alongside Ellen Page and my all time number one girl crush Juliette Lewis. After Whip It hundreds of girls across the party wanted to get involved in playing Roller Derby. More and more teams are springing up, Nottingham itself has two!

Now a bit of history. I’ve skated pretty much my whole life. One of my earliest memories having a pair of my little pony roller skates in Lancaster, teaching myself to move from the wall to the washing line without falling over. I made the transistion onto inlines in the 90’s and spent time with my brother and his friend skating around Preston. I’d skate to my first job in the village, to exams when I was doing my GCSE’s, to my summer placement… I loved it. She who is averse to exercise! After uni and moving back to Preston I discovered Superfunk Roller Discos. That’s right, drinking, skating and DISCO BOOGIE! Serious fun. One finds the alcohol improves ones skating abilities (at least in my own head it does). As it transpires the roller discos are run by this sister of my very good friend Andrew Disley (founder of GeekUp). Rachel is an amazing skater and now a firm friend of mine. She DANCES on skates. Hoping to get her and her dance partner along for a little entertainment during the bout. I started going out street skating on Bank Holidays with Andrew, Rachel and a few other skater friends. We’d head down to Southport and skate for hours from parks to seafront, great fun. I even took to skating along Blackpool prom after work and purchased a new set of recreational inlines.

I moved to Nottingham shortly after, but just before that Rachel divulged the existence of Roller Derby to me. “You’d love it Gem.” is all she needed to say. I went on a few street skates with the Nottingham Skaters (I think it’s THE hardest street skate in the country 12-14 miles in 2 hours on a Wednesday evening followed by a session in Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem). I held them back as the poorest skater, but they were great with me. Taught me a lot about technique and were very patient with my fear of hills! I popped along to practice with the Nottingham Roller Girls on my inlines. It was brilliant.

I’ve now been learning to skate and learning Roller Derby since May last year. I skated my first marathon last August. I played my first bout in February with cherry poppers from Wakey Wheel Cats. Now I’m looking forward to bouting with my lovely Nottingham Roller Girls.

I’ve vastly improved my skating technique and fitness. As a bonus I have lost 1.5 stone and I don’t even feel like I’m exercising. Roller Derby is a fantastic way to exercise, improve self esteem and how you view your body. Roller Derby is for women of all shapes and sizes. My huge arse is now an asset! I’d say forgive the pun, but you’ll find Roller Derby is filled with puns.

So please come along, watch us play and stay to have  skate at the Roller Disco:

http://nottinghamrollergirls.com/dodgebrawl

Sat at the computer here with the instruction to write some blog posts about what it is you do can be pretty intimidating.  The idea of doing a sort of “day in the life of…” kind of thing seems pretty daft for an artist as, even though a lot of us will try and embellish the fact, the day of an artist revolves heavily around procrastination in various forms, including watching the news, looking at the various internet forums which are our only real contact with other artists, other people’s blogs, making tea and trying to work out what record to put on.  Occasionally if our clients are really lucky, we even draw some pictures.  Unfortunately for me this process is even cut by half as I still have a day job to contend with.

This isn’t meant as the other “woes of the artist” cliche but only to explain that what we do is actually pretty bloody boring.  The only reason people tend to think we have so much fun is because they only see us when we’re out and having fun as opposed to being sat in our dressing gowns staring at a blank pieces of paper trying to resist the urge to take a look at what those people with real lives are whittering about on Facebook.  We’re certainly not magicians and the only reason we’re seen to be having any fun is because we’re seen when we’re away from that piece of blank paper that’s been staring back at us for six hours and really excited to be around actual people.

Anyway, check back occasionally this week as I’ll be rambling on further about the various nonsense I fill my head with and showing some more insightful photos of my workspace and meandering doodles.  With the next few posts I’d like people to use the comments section to ask me any questions they might have about my process and whatever else might have piqued their interest.

Hopefully this will all start to make sense….

.michael.

Inspiration - scattered before glueing...

Previous posts on this site have explored where people find inspiration for their creativity and how they use it. My inspiration is usually to be found scattered on bits of paper and notebooks around the house and in my handbag. This weekend I tried to make a concerted effort to sort all the bits out and store them where they might prove useful. Much glueing ensued. 

My inspiration (for writing) comes from pictures, news stories and general flummery that comes to me as I walk to work each day. I also find it really helpful to read blogs and quotes from other writers about how they write. That is why, this weekend, I came across an article by Alan Baxter that divides writers into planners and pantsers. As you may guess planners work everything out first, plot, characters, setting, style etc while pantsers are those who start out with a brief sketch and write by the seat of their pants.

I’m a pantser. For novel writing. For short stories I’m more of a planner. Well less a planner and more of a ponderer. Anyway, while I was reading this it occurred to me that writing must be one of the few creative arts that you have the option of being a pantser. Many things - graphics, gaming, photography, knitting – need planning or it just won’t work. So the creativity comes in the very early stages when you work out what you want to do and then in the skill you apply to create what you want.

When writing my novel part of the fun was discovering the things I’d make my characters do and say that I didn’t know about until I typed them. It’s a crime novel and I didn’t even know who had been killed until I wrote the scene where the detective sees the body for the first time. PD James, on the other hand, plots everything meticulously before then writing the book (in longhand no less, what an impressive lady she must be.) For me the act of writing itself sparks the creativity I need to create – does that make sense? It doesn’t matter if the plot contradicts itself while I write – the writing is the important thing. Everything else can be sorted out in the later drafts. In many ways the later drafts are harder for me because I’ve got to apply logic and sense to the mish mash of story that has just flowed from my fingers.

So I’m curious and I’d like to hear from you. Which creative arts give you the option to be a pantser? Can you or do you create by the seat of your pants? Or are you a planner? Let us know.

Some of these responses would be best followed up by the Monty Python team – with added humour and zeal – but in their absence, I will do my best to continue this thread in ‘honour of Creativity’.

It is noted that the question of ‘happiness’ poses an interesting challenge for us all – especially in these dreary times of political wrangling, austerity and wars.  To keep our costs down, many of us have tried to seek comfort in the TV – sat with a bag of munchies and a beer – but we can’t rely on that either – there’s nothing cheery on that any more – it’s all doom and gloom. And otherwise, if I have to watch one more episode of The Sweeney, I’ll ****?!@**….!!!  

Anyway, it’s really doesn’t sit right with me, to feel so led by TV or media. Artists are very individualistic, and like to lead themselves – be it in ‘tribes’ sometimes – (don’t we?)  So, I’ve stopped watching the news and TV generally, and have started reading back issues of The Dandy to get my laughs instead – much more informative.

I’m sure that most of you out there in the creative community would agree, that creative people are often under-estimated for their valuable contribution to business, and ultimately, our impact on society.  But do you think maybe it’s because we don’t make ourselves heard enough? Do you think maybe it’s because we don’t always realise our true value either?

Without creative people where would the world be? For example, without music we could not sing or dance, express our emotions – happy and sad, anger or exhilaration – the things that help us to get through the events in life – good and bad. Without a good book to read, or a great picture to look at we might have nothing to see, ponder or inquire over – to make us feel delight or disgust!  Without video games we might never get the chance to be an ace race-car driver or fly a space ship.  Whatever it may be, we can say that everything about everything, somewhere down the line, has involved ‘creatives’ and creative deeds.

From this I have decided, that for me, the time to do something different is NOW!  To make better use of the creative freedoms I have, and investigate how I can put my ideas and practical skills to use – to enhance my life, and the lives of others.

I’ve made a start by ensuring there’s now always something good on my TV – (I don’t mean the headless Buddah – that isn’t good, that’s just bad photography!) I was going to skip my old set, but a friend of mine has improved it – and now it makes me happy, so it will stay.  Even though there is a small tear on the face of the clown, I see this as my reminder to make the most of my day.

This is also my contribution to the reuse-revolution, in readiness for the post-digital switch-off….

Well the holidays are over, for now – but what a marvelous thing to have a week ‘bookended’ by bank holidays – might even be rarer than a solar eclipse!  Hopefully you made the most of it (if you had the opportunity).

Now it’s back to work, but at least we still have the beautiful sunshine to maintain some ‘happy’ hormones, before the rain comes.

Fear not, this is not intended to be a prediction of the weather – but the near future for Nottingham is looking even brighter (spiritually, at least) – as there are plenty of arty and cultural activities to keep us all occupied over the coming week.

Here’s a brief round-up of just some of these events:

Fluorescent Sheep

Date and time: 3rd – 14th May. Open Tues-Fri 12-6. Sat 11-5. (Private View: 5th May 6-8pm)
The venue: Surface Gallery

This entirely volunteer–run gallery has yet another intriguing collaboration to offer lovers of contemporary art…(picture above courtesy of the Surface Gallery website).

This curiously titled exhibition, alone, is enough to entice me for a visit. If only to answer one question - will there be any formaldehyde sheep?  We’ll have to go and see for ourselves, but it promises to be a fascinating exhibition, with or without – so move over Damien Hirst!

More details can be found on the Surface Gallery website.

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Unveiling

Date and time: Private view 6th May – (6pm to 9pm). Runs until 28th May 2011
The venue: The Crocus Gallery

Another group exhibition of the ‘multi-disciplinary’ kind is on display from 6th May at Crocus Gallery – a venue that in the year since its launch, has fast grown its reputation for creativity with genuine community spirit.

“‘Unveiling’ features a diverse range of works from photography to installation. Representations range through physical decay to emotional trauma.”

We would less easily recognise the good things in life, without the bad that we also experience from time-to-time - it may also be possible to see beauty in decay. This thought-provoking exhibition is likely to ensure we take an inward look, to help us find out.

‘Unveiling’ will run alongside the current exhibition to celebrate the Gallery’s first birthday.

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Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry
Consequence of Retrospect

Date and time: 7th May (Opens at 18:00) - 4th June
The venue: Trade Gallery

“Taking a selection of video artworks from the last seven years of collective practice the exhibition Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry -  ‘Consequence of Retrospect’; draws together a series of artworks that use cinematic devices, forms and structures as departure points for exploring relationships between the viewer and the (moving) image. ” (Descrption from the Trade Gallery website).

Opening times can be found on the website.

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Also this Saturday:

May Fest

Date and time: 7th May from 11am to 5.30pm
The venue: The University of Nottingham

This is a day of free, fun and activities for all ages and interests. The event last year was fascinating and gave a real insight into many of the great research projects in progress at the University.  It promises to be a wonderfully creative way to find out about science – through fun activities and experimentation.  So, get your ‘inquisitive’ hat on, and head down to the city centre campus this weekend.

More details can be found on The University of Nottingham website.

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Later this month we see the arrival of ‘Neat 11’ – the Nottingham European Arts and Theatre Festival – more about this one nearer the date – but if you’d like to get in early and guarantee your seats, you can now book tickets online.

Do you agree with this statement – and is it possible that being more creative gives us more reasons to be happy?

A toolkit to get everyone started on the path to ‘happiness’ has been launched this week, through a new group called ‘Action for Happiness’.  And it started me thinking, about what this really means – how it might manifest for me and for my community in Nottingham. Surely, you can’t just tell people to be happy – we’re either happy already, or not, aren’t we?

Not necessarily, maybe there is a need to look at what they have to say.

I think we’d all agree that taking on new and exciting challenges makes us happier – from the pure and simple sense of achievement and pride. And so why not set yourself some additional ‘creative’ challenges to help yourself, and others.

We know that Nottingham is a creative place, so on that basis, does this also mean that it’s a happy place too?  Making lots of money shouldn’t be your main objective, and it certainly isn’t guaranteed to make you happy – but if you begin from a sense of pride and achievement, and meet new people in the process of growing a reputation for being enthusiastic and selfless – this is a good place to start.

There are plenty of creative individuals out there in Nottingham that may hold the answers. We’d love to hear what creative actions make you and others happy, so let us hear them.

Visit the ‘Action for Happiness’ website and see if you can pick up some tips for life. Get those creative ideas buzzing!