Long coming and finally here is the Soulful Jewels Journal, a blog by Bea Jareno Jewellery. Very excited to start this venture with you on such a fantastic project in which I was selected to be one of the 14 creatives in this pilot project.
And this is what all was about........
Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said: “It is fantastic to be able to open our first London Made Me pop-up shop in one of the most famous high streets in our capital. This is an opportunity to celebrate the talent of 14 vibrant artists who have been supported through the Mayor of London’s Creative Enterprise Zones and also a chance for Londoners and visitors to our capital to buy some unique gifts.
“The cost of living crisis combined with the ongoing effects of the pandemic have hit the arts and creative industries hard, and it is vital that we continue to do everything we can to support them. By helping to nurture talent and drive innovation, we are building a better London for everyone.”
London Made Me Project Director and Founder, We Built This City, Alice Mayor said: “With so much accelerated change on our high streets, there’s never been a better time to support and empower creative entrepreneurs to bring fresh, exciting and meaningful ideas into our empty shop spaces.
“The London Made Me programme is the first of its kind in offering both educational training on how to secure, design and run commercial shop spaces, as well as the practical hands-on experience of building and trading the physical shop itself.
“I have no doubt that the legacy of this programme will be far-reaching for all the creative businesses involved and offer a huge step forwards in the rebuilding of London’s high streets post pandemic.”
Founder and CEO, Hypha Studios, Camilla Cole, said: “We are excited to be working alongside such brilliant partners on this project and furthering our mission of supporting the artistic economy at this difficult time whilst simultaneously regenerating our high streets through culture.”
About the London Made Me Pop-Up Shop and Creative Enterprise Zones:
The London Made Me Pop-Up Shop is a boutique store featuring unique gifts all made by 14 talented artists and makers from the Mayor of London’s Creative Enterprise Zones.
The pop-up shop has been created in partnership with Alice Mayor, founder of Carnaby Street based pop-up shop and brand We Built This City, Hypha Studios and The Crown Estate. With thanks to the City of Westminster and the Business and IP Centre.
As well as selling unique work, the shop also includes an intensive retail training programme designed to equip the artists with the knowledge and skills to run their own pop-ups in their local communities
The London Made Me Pop-Up Shop is part of the Creative Enterprise Zone programme, a Mayor of London flagship initiative to help protect and preserve the future of the creative sector in the city, providing affordable workspaces, jobs and new opportunities for young and emerging talent
The Mayor launched his Creative Enterprise Zone programme in 2018 and has invested more than £5m to help areas across the capital to support artists and creative businesses. The ground-breaking initiative has already established nearly 1,000 creative training and work placements across London, and by 2025 will have increased new, permanent, affordable workspace by more than 65,000sqm. Explore Creative Enterprise Zones
The London Made Me Pop-Up Shop (59-61 Regent Street) opened 11 November till 20 December 2022.
For more information on the 14 participants including Bea Jareno Jewellery follow this link
I can only tell you that I greatly enjoyed this experience. I started feeling somehow anxious about the whole thing but with Alice Mayor encouragement and the support of everyone behind the scenes I had such an adventure. The best thing of all is that I found new friends which I know I will keep a lifetime, for me this was one of the most important parts of this project. The community and loved shared in this short time together.
I feel grateful, complete and full of confidence and I certainly look forwards to share more adventures with you in this blog....more pop-up shops coming soon!
With much love, peace and light!
Bea x
Photo credit: Eleanor Bentall
Video credit: Sun Xue Yang Lim