Month: November 2008

Made in Moseley

Made in Moseley _ Home Page.jpg

This new website is going to play an important part in helping the individual crafts people of Moseley flourish – great work from the Moseley Community Development Trust – which is also investing in co-working space for creatives in Moseley.  I’ll quote the press release in full:

This Christmas shoppers are turning away from high street mass-produced gifts and clicking onto Made in Moseley (https://www.madeinmoseley.co.uk), a new online shop launching on 22nd November 2008 stock full with the finest art, jewellery and fashion hand-crafted by independent artists and designer-makers residing in the south Birmingham borough.

From a small, £4.50 comic book by cult illustrator Sarah Ray to a hand-made, 18 carat gold ring, set with two cognac diamonds and boulder opal priced at £1,530 by internationally-renowned designer-maker Michele White, Made in Moseley has something special for everyone, and currently features the work of nine talented local artists.

“The site looks fantastic, it combines an easy to use interface with a secure payment system via PayPal,” says Suzanne Neal, Studio Manager at Media Content Lab. “It’s one of the first artist-driven, shared ecommerce sites in Birmingham, buying from the shop directly supports Moseley’s artists and designer-makers.”

The result of a partnership between Birmingham City University’s Media Content Lab and charity the Moseley Community Development Trust, the site creates a supportive platform for the burgeoning creative community thriving within the Moseley district of Birmingham – and is continually looking for new artists to expand the website.

Congrats.

Linda Hines Blogs – another win for the social media surgery.

I’ve just found another blog (courtesy of the Be Birmingham site) set up following last months Birmingham social media surgery for Blog Action Day. (Next surgery November 26th is also supported by the Third sector Assembly and BVSC but continues to use volunteers from the Birmingham Bloggers group.  Community groups and voluntary orgs hugely welcome, please click here for details)
Bend it Like Linda can be found here.  She writes:

Hi, this is my first experience of blogging so I’m a little nervous about what to write! I live in Perry Common and have been actively involved in my community for 18 years now. I was recently invited to become a “Community Champion” by Be Birmingham which means that I represent the community at a very high level and am able to feed others views and ideas into the strategic partnership

Linda Hines is a remarkable woman (who’s nerves I can understand but they might surprise some) who first became an active citizen when the council told her they would have to demolish her house. I’ve worked with her a number of times, including with residents for regeneration, the Third Sector Assembly, the local strategic partnership and the now defunct b:cen.  Whoever gets to coach Linda at our next surgery will have a great time.

If you want to prepare yourself listen to the sometimes tearful story of why she does what she does please listen to this podcast from the Grassroots Channel in July 2006.

Social Media Surgeries – breeding in Brum

We Share Stuff has announced a new set of Sunday morning internet surgeries in Erdington – building on what else has been developing in Birmingham.

so put Sunday 23rd November in your diaries as the ‘We Share Stuff’ team will be at The Red Couch cafe, Erdington each Sunday morning from 11:00am to around 1:00pm. The surgery will be free to attend and the cafe itself serves a wide selection of drinks and snacks. So if you’re curious about the Internet, want to know how to get a voice online, or merely want to drop by for a chat, please do. The atmosphere is real friendly and we promise not to bombard anyone with jargon. It’s all about showing you how easy the Internet is becoming.

It’s an important reminder than no one needs any formal organisation to be able to offer this help, just somewhere warm with wifi and somebody willing to serve a hot drink or two.

Meanwhile the Birmingham Bloggers group (with space and support from BVSC & the Birmingham 3rd Sector Assembly) is running a second social media surgery for voluntary organisations and community groups from the city Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 from 5.30pm to 7.00pm at the same venue at the first one (BVSC in Digbeth – see map link here).  If you came last time you are always welcome to come again. Please sign up by clicking here – just so we know how many folk may turn up.

The original surgeries run by Pete Ashton may be thinner on the ground  this winter – unless of course more of us pop along to keep them going – but you can still find him at Rooty’s.