In October 2014, I was chatting to a few friends in the playground of Muswell Hill Primary School and had an idea. Before an extended career break to raise my two children, my career had been in PR and communications for a leading PR consultancy and then as PR manager for disabled children’s charity Whizz Kidz. With an appetite to use my skills again and finding the playground full of creative parents, I suggested we join forces in some way.
An initial meeting over coffee at the home of MHFGA committee member and photographer Zoe Norfolk, along with long-term Muswell Hill resident artist Jess Albert, local jewellery designer maker Michele Wyckoff Smith, and then florist Tania McLaren, the idea of a collective was conceived. The aim was to bring local makers together to sell their work, but with me dedicated to event organisation and promotion, it would enable them to focus their energies on what they love doing most – creating.
An initial meeting over coffee at the home of MHFGA committee member and photographer Zoe Norfolk, along with long-term Muswell Hill resident artist Jess Albert, local jewellery designer maker Michele Wyckoff Smith, and then florist Tania McLaren, the idea of a collective was conceived. The aim was to bring local makers together to sell their work, but with me dedicated to event organisation and promotion, it would enable them to focus their energies on what they love doing most – creating.
Just six weeks after the first meeting, Muswell Hill Creatives held its first Open House on Hillfield Park with a wider group of local artists, designers and makers and was a huge success. A further Open House was held in 2015, before we bravely took ourselves out to St James Square for our first market in 2015.
In 2015 I established a membership arrangement for a “dynamic collective of local artists, designers and makers who take pride in quality craftsmanship and promote creativity.”
In 2015 I established a membership arrangement for a “dynamic collective of local artists, designers and makers who take pride in quality craftsmanship and promote creativity.”
Over the years the collective has included photographers, jewellery designer makers, ceramicists, glassmakers, textile artists, skincare makers, knitwear and childrenswear designer makers, furniture makers, printmakers, florists, leather workers and many more.
The collective quickly expanded geographically and now includes makers based in neighbouring areas including Edmonton, Archway, Crouch End, Turnpike Lane, Bounds Green and Wood Green.
The collective quickly expanded geographically and now includes makers based in neighbouring areas including Edmonton, Archway, Crouch End, Turnpike Lane, Bounds Green and Wood Green.
It is common for independent artists, designers and makers to work alone in a studio or at home and it can be a lonely existence. Muswell Hill Creatives provides a supportive and sociable community of like-minded individuals with whom to share the ups and downs of running a small business and to help develop and grow their creative enterprise. They benefit from my marketing expertise, but also the shared experiences and expertise of their fellow collective members.
Over the last 10 years, Muswell Hill Creatives has held 32 markets outside in St James Square, a large-scale exhibition at the Hornsey Town Hall and nine pop up shops including two in East Sussex! We have supported over 40 artists, designers and makers in their creative endeavours as members of the collective and many more as guests at markets and events.
In 2022, the Muswell Hill Creatives Make and Mend Festival was introduced as a twice-yearly event, to give local people an opportunity to enjoy learning a range of making and mending skills under the expert guidance of local creatives. This has proven to be a popular, friendly and fun afternoon of creativity which we plan to continue in 2025.
Over the last 10 years, Muswell Hill Creatives has held 32 markets outside in St James Square, a large-scale exhibition at the Hornsey Town Hall and nine pop up shops including two in East Sussex! We have supported over 40 artists, designers and makers in their creative endeavours as members of the collective and many more as guests at markets and events.
In 2022, the Muswell Hill Creatives Make and Mend Festival was introduced as a twice-yearly event, to give local people an opportunity to enjoy learning a range of making and mending skills under the expert guidance of local creatives. This has proven to be a popular, friendly and fun afternoon of creativity which we plan to continue in 2025.
The collective has had to navigate its way through a pandemic, an increasingly tough economic climate, wild weather and many more challenges along the way, but we’re still standing (just about!). We’re proud to have shone a spotlight on all the amazing creativity in the area over the last 10 years and to have built such a thriving creative community and hope to do so for years to come.
"I joined Muswell Hill Creatives in 2018 and it has hands down been the best decision I ever made. The sense of support and community has kept me going and I feel that I am much further along in my creative endeavour than I would be if I were on my own. Working in a self-employed creative business can be lonely, but the feedback and encouragement I get from the group is invaluable." Cecilia, By Cecil.
www.instagram.com/n10creatives
www.facebook.com/muswellhillcreatives
Email: [email protected]
"I joined Muswell Hill Creatives in 2018 and it has hands down been the best decision I ever made. The sense of support and community has kept me going and I feel that I am much further along in my creative endeavour than I would be if I were on my own. Working in a self-employed creative business can be lonely, but the feedback and encouragement I get from the group is invaluable." Cecilia, By Cecil.
www.instagram.com/n10creatives
www.facebook.com/muswellhillcreatives
Email: [email protected]
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