Membership

Eligibility Criteria

Prospective members of Muswell Hill Creatives (MHC) must be local to Muswell Hill and the surrounding areas, and creating their own original product. The preferred maximum number of members is 12.

The carefully curated collective will welcome members based on the quality of product and how it fits with the existing members' work (including any potential conflicts of interest) and whether it reflects the mission of MHC. All members need to be committed and have time to actively engage with the collective coordinator and its members via face-to-face meetings or our online forums (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp groups). 

All members need to:
  • be able to attend a minimum of three meetings a year and participate in at least one MHC event a year
  • have an e-commerce platform (their own website or Etsy etc) or have one in development
  • be proactive on social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
  • commit to regularly engaging with the other members of MHC via our FB and WhatsApp groups to share events, advice or skills with fellow members. 
  • want to engage with and champion creativity and creative campaigns led by MHC 

How MHC works

By joining MHC, you will benefit from being part of a collective which has a dedicated coordinator – Rachael Booth-Clibborn.  Rachael is responsible for coordinating the group, its events calendar, website and social media platforms.  In addition, her background in PR and event management enables Rachael to proactively seek publicity opportunities for the group as a whole and provides you with access to this expertise should you wish to commission individual PR support (fees to be negotiated separately).
 
Whilst MHC benefits from having a coordinator/PR, MHC is committed to its collective ethos and the members very much work as a team. Members have an open approach to new opportunities and ideas and jointly assess their value to the development of the collective and to each individual. On the practical side, belonging to the collective may involve doing a shift at a MHC pop up shop or helping with set up/set down of a fair or other event.   

Key benefits

The opportunity to show and sell work at a minimum of two MHC events a year. These might include outdoor fairs on St James’s Square or Pop Up shops or virtual events.

A public profile on the MHC public social media pages and offline mailings and publicity.  

One page for each member on the Muswell Hill Creatives website.   Other presence on the website mentions on the News & Events page.

Blog features on the MHC website. These are generally written by the coordinator but on occasions may be guest written by a member of MHC. They are edited and posted by the coordinator.

Regular social events to benefit from being part of a thriving creative community. These are organised by the coordinator or by one of the MHC members.   

Access to all MHC forums, mentoring sessions, social events and public selling events

Being regularly informed of sales, PR, networking, training and new business opportunities by the coordinator. MHC members also exchange opportunities.  

PR/publicity: a presence in MHC feature/press story pitches and support in generating individual PR stories. Press materials are prepared by the MHC coordinator. 

Support/advice in brand, website and social media development by the coordinator or members of MHC.

Increased exposure: being exposed to a growing audience with social media profile beyond Muswell Hill.

Mentoring support: eg Etsy shop, social media, product development and training sessions (some will be chargeable as an extra depending on the nature of the session).

Fees

£140 for 6 months’ membership paid in advance.  (Subject to one month's cancellation notice period.)
 
An additional coordinator fee is charged for the main MHC sales events (including fairs and pop up shops) to cover event management and publicity.  The coordinator’s fee depends on the scale of the event and time commitment involved. Costs associated with the event are also shared amongst the participants. More details available on request.
 
All members share ad hoc general costs including website hosting, MHC branding, social media ads, subscriptions etc in addition to their membership fee.  Approximate cost per member is £20 and members will be notified of these costs ahead of membership renewal in March and September.
 
Membership (and associated fees) are reviewed in March and September each year.   
 
Individual PR support is chargeable separately subject to discussion.

Testimonials

If you are interested in joining our collective, subscribe here for news of future calls for new members and to hear about upcoming events you can apply to join: