Jelly
Workhub & coworking news
Jul 26th
The Workhubs Conference in June was a wonderful day spent listening to people from all over the UK who are committed to providing coworking space for home workers and freelancers, sometimes in difficult financial circumstances. It inspired me to write about the mutual benefits of Jelly and workhubs and you can see the results on the Jelly for workhubs page.
The Workhubs Network, who ran the conference, will be launching a redesigned website at the end of the summer with a workhubs directory. In the meantime, in response to queries I get from around the country, here are some more coworking resources at all points of the compass:
If you’re a home worker in the North East of England looking for good spaces for meetings, training and so on, you’ll be interested in Space on Tap. The site allows you to search for the kind of space you want under categories such as relaxed, inspiring etc. Just click to open the doors to view the space! Space on Tap also runs coworking events for home workers to get together.
Down to Winchester and Charlotte Baker runs OutThere events with speakers on topics of interest to freelancers and small business. She’s also planning her first Jelly in early September. Also in Hampshire the County Council is opening Smarter Working Centres around the area and are interested in hearing from people with spare office space that could be used for coworking.
Travel eastwards almost as far as you can and the first Norfolk Jelly will be held on Monday 13 September. And to keep tabs on all the new Jellys popping up around the country check in at the Jelly Wiki.
Heard of workhubs?
Jul 6th
This time last week I was speaking on the workhubs user panel at the Workhubs Conference at BT Centre in London – quite a change from my usual Tuesday of home working!
The conference launched the new report on workhubs written by the Workhubs Network (run by Tim Dwelly, whom I know from my Cornwall days. It’s really quite spooky how the past can pop up in your life again!) Workhubs are also known as coworking spaces or workspaces, and are the places you can rent a desk for just a few hours if you are a home worker or freelancer who fancies some company and a change from your home office.
I was invited along on the strength of the Jellys I organise at The Old Church School, the workhub we are lucky to have right here in Frome, Somerset. (And I’m delighted to say I was also quoted in the report!) I met workhub owners from London, Brighton, Leeds, York, Scarborough, Penzance, Coalport in Shropshire and Wing in Bedfordshire, so you can see it’s not just the big cities that have these facilities.
Fancy trying out coworking but not sure where to go? Just Google your location plus ‘workhub’ or ‘coworking’, or put out a question on Twitter. You can try coworking entirely free for a day by attending a Jelly. Check out the Jelly Wiki to find out where they are being held.
Excuse me, I’m having a #jellymoment
May 19th
Today was Jelly day once again at The Old Church School in Frome, and having discovered Jelly was happening at the same time in both Cardiff and Coalport, I racked my brains for a way of connecting us all.
It was A who came up with the brilliant idea of having a #jellymoment on Twitter like the #watercoolermoment Enterprise Nation run at 11 am every morning. We decided on 12 as the start time, and despite a few grumbling stomachs demanding lunch, got such a good response that we reached 3rd in UK trending, as you can see on the left. Not at all bad for a first attempt!
Frome Jelly 19 May
May 10th
Just a quick announcement of the next Jelly in Frome. It’s been a while due to all my recent upheavals, but finally I’ve got it together for Wednesday 19 May, from 10 am to 4 pm. We’ll be at The Old Church School again, thanks to our ultra-supportive host Gavin Eddy.
I’m looking forward to seeing old and new faces, and for the latter there’s new information on the site about what to expect when attending Jelly, plus some pointers about what you can hope to achieve. The glass-walled meeting room holds eight people, so don’t delay – booking starts 12 May.
For first-time Jellyers
May 6th
You may have read my posts banging on about how wonderful coworking and Jelly are, and wondered what on earth actually happens there, and what you could take along to do. I know I was a bit puzzled before my first Jelly in Bath, because I work alone in my home office, and I couldn’t imagine how I could possibly work surrounded by other people. People who might want to talk, for goodness sake!
So I’ve added a new page called Attending Jelly to the Work from Home Events section and hope it will help puzzled first-time Jellyers. @JanMinihane, who organises Shropshire Jelly, has shared her experience of Jelly and what she particularly likes about it. As is so often the case, it’s the little things that make all the difference, things like sneezing and tea!
I’d like to thank Jan for providing that, and also for giving me ideas to add to the information on How to Start your Own Jelly. It’s a good example of the collaboration enjoyed by Jellyers, in sharing experiences, getting inspiration from others and coming up with something much better as a result. Oh, and it also gives me an opportunity to show off the Shropshire Jelly logo, which is as colourful and full of character as the actual occasion!
Jelly at Glove Factory Studios
Mar 14th
I’m really excited to have another venue for Jelly, the beautiful and quirky Glove Factory Studios at Holt near Bradford-on-Avon. They are described as a contemporary renovation of an industrial heritage building and have to be experienced – the website has some lovely pictures, but you have to be there to appreciate the place, which is light, airy and full of character. As well as office and studio space, there is a gallery, cafe and outdoor exhibition spaces in the process of being finished.
Glove Factory Studios is owned by Alix Paver and Nick Kirkham of Great Western Studios, and is a part of the Forwardspace family. The Old Church School – another Forwardspace property – is owned by Gavin Eddy who believes in the many benefits of Jelly as strongly as I do, and whose Frome coworking space, is home of Frome Jelly. Forwardspace is also working on another characterful conversion in Taunton, The Collar Factory, which I believe is due for completion later next year.
Holt Jelly is on Wednesday 24 March from 10 am to 4 pm and all you have to do is book a place and turn up with your laptop to take advantage of free wifi access and inspiring surroundings for the day.
Jelly goes Enterprise Nation-wide
Jan 25th
Excellent news to start my home working week! My new page on starting your own Jelly has been featured on Enterprise Nation, the site for people setting up and developing a business from home. I have been posting on the EN forum for a while and exchanging the occasional tweet with Emma Jones, the site’s founder, but I’m thrilled to get such prominent billing as her site is visited by thousands of home business owners, many of whom will benefit from learning about Jelly.
Take a look at Enterprise Nation for tips and advice on any aspect of running a home business. If you can’t immediately find what you’re after, you can post a question on the forum and will undoubtedly get a response that will point you in the right direction, whether it’s facts you need or a bit of support and reassurance.
Just do one thing at a time!
Jan 21st
I’m pleased to say my advice to myself worked and I was able to get stuck into my new webpage on how to start your own Jelly. It’s now published apart from some pictures I’m waiting for A to put on as we have a glitch with the site that means pictures have to go on the server first…or something. Something that I need to stay well away from, anyway!
I’ve written the new page in response to all the questions about Jelly and coworking that have been coming in to me and Lee Cottier, who organises Jelly in Bristol and Bath. It seems that although the idea of coworking has been around in the UK for a few years, it’s now really taking off. Timing is all.
Having completed this, I’m keen now to crack on with my page for freelance writers working from home.
Jelly on ice
Jan 8th
A and I crunched carefully down the road yesterday to Jelly at The Old Church School and were joined by two other people who live locally and were able to walk in. Others were stranded by the ice and couldn’t make it.
Having spent all the previous day at home, with not even a short walk, it made me feel so much better to be in a different environment and talk to people I don’t often see. I’m always recommending other home workers to get out as much as they can, but even so, every time I do it, I am amazed once again just how much difference it makes to my mood and outlook.
I’ll be organising more Jelly very soon and details will appear here and on the Work from Home Events page. It’s worth pointing out that you don’t have to have a laptop to come to Jelly! Just bring some portable work – something to read, write, sew, knit, whatever – and enjoy the company.
There’s always some help available. Yesterday A got a Jellyer going on Twitter and Tweetdeck. Often it turns out that something that is a complete mystery to you is natural as breathing to another Jellyer!
Back to reality
Jan 4th
So now all the festivities are finally over and ‘real life’ strikes again. Despite doing bits and pieces of work throughout, I’m finding it unexpectedly difficult to get focused today, perhaps because there are so many exciting things on the horizon that it’s hard to know where to start.
I’ve got several phone calls booked over the next few days to discuss how to help home workers in different ways. On Wednesday I’m visiting Bath Jelly at Green Park Station to interview Lee Cottier, the foremost coworker in the South West and the person who has established Jelly in these parts. I want to talk to him about how he organises his working life and what his plans are for 2010 – on film if I can persuade him!
The second Frome Jelly takes place on Thursday and already there are only 2 places left but now I’d better get on with the new content I’ve got planned for the site, starting with resources for writers who work from home. Do let me know if you work from home as a writer, editor etc and have any useful links you think others would appreciate.
