Co-Founder of Future Artists Mark Ashmore and Co-founder of Future Artists Live creative Co-op, share's his thoughts on the digital revolution, and why 100,000's of future artists around the world are part of it in an act of co-operation.  Digital conversations and direct action, and how user generated media will evolve into a mainstream force with no gatekeepers, and what this means for the …

This year’s Creative Networks Summer Party was held at Leeds’ newest creative venue, Bar Seven on Woodhouse Lane. The evening soon got underway with crowds of networkers turning up in the early evening for a free drink and a chat.   On the second floor of the bar, Leeds art and events collective Limn hosted an extremely popular illustration and image workshop. Networkers could …

Guest blog post by Roger Suggett. If I’m totally honest, I’ve not heard about Creative Networks before but it seems to be somewhat of a hidden Leeds gem. Essentially a ‘free monthly network event for creative professionals’ the aim is to ’share ideas, make interesting collaborations or just to enjoy the buzz’. This month, Leeds College of Art teamed their end of year show with the event, a …

The Creative Networks Annual Business Fair was a big success on this year. The cafe bar at the Art College was filled with over 25 regional support agencies and over 130 creative professionals. The event got off to a flying start and the hall was buzzing before it officially opened at 6pm! The conversations were still going strong at 8.30 and the feedback from exhibitors proved it had been a …

Lizzie is an illustrator based in London. Graduating from goldsmiths in 2008 while Britain was deep in a recession she has managed to forge a career as a self employed designer and illustrator. Since graduating she has exhibited in New York, Paris and London. Constantly covered in design publications Lizzie has been described as one of the design industries ‘leading lights’ by Design Week. …

It was no surprise to find this month's Creative Networks event packed out with budding creative-types eager to see guest speaker and world famous photographer Kevin Cummins. I have to admit that despite being very familiar with Cummins photography I had no idea what he looked like himself and I'm going to assume most people were in the same boat given the tangible buzz you could feel at …

Mention “Jimmy Choo” and elegant, exquisitely crafted shoes immediately come to mind. Famed for making shoes for the late Princess Diana, Mr Choo’s beautiful creations have adorned the feet of royalty, celebrities and pop stars.Choo, the son of a reputable shoe designer in Malaysia, spent his early years on the idyllic island of Penang working as his father’s young apprentice. Determined to master …

This month marked our 6th Creative Networks event and again we were delighted to see so many new people taking part. We are very proud of the distinctive direction our network is taking; that ours in not just A.N.Other network but is an Interdisciplinary forum where really innovative collaborations can begin.We took ‘How Creative is Yorkshire’ as our theme and invited a panel of …

Patrick was warmly welcomed by an absolutely packed auditorium at this month’s Creative Networks meeting.Patrick’s presentation was everything you would expect from the editor of a magazine such as Creative Review; Full of variety, startling and exciting visual imagery and a myriad of fascinating tales based on heart warming human stories and some challenging agency briefs that have …

“Good evening – my name is Ruth Badger and I speak Wolver’ampton fluently!”Ruth’s presentation made it quite clear that her roots were equally diverse. Ruth’s passion for people and business, her attitude and her chatty style instantly puts everyone at ease. Ruth was in charge and the audience was hooked.Addressing the creative audience directly, she made some …

In April we were delighted to welcome Ajaz Ahmed to our monthly networking event at the Art College.Ajaz, the founder of ‘Freeserve’ one of the first and the largest internet service providers. His story of its unprecedented success held the audience engaged from start to finish.He says of himself, rather modestly, that he is just a shopkeeper, but his retail expertise was, indeed, the …

Our guest speaker this month was Frazer Irving; artist and story teller extraordinaire.Frazer’s was a really human story of an artist of huge talent who sometimes struggles to be acknowledged despite his relatively high profile.He recalled life at home as a small boy where his mother used to give him comics of every kind and puts his obsession down to this early cultural input. After all, it …

For our 9th Creative Networks event, we were delighted to welcome the man who wrote Duty Springfield’s first No 1 hit song, the one time manager of The Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, Wham, T-Rex and Japan; Simon Napier-Bell.Simon, who has been roadie, manager, author and business guru during a career that has taken him all over the world and taught him a thing or two about the nature of people, …

This month we were delighted to welcome the ‘Man from the IPO’,Gary Townley, from the Intellectual Property Office; formerly known as ‘The Patent Office’. The organisation changed its name in April 2007 to acknowledge that since its foundation in 1852 there have been some changes around the issue of creativity and how ideas should be protected from theft and inappropriate …

This was our 8th event and it was an action packed evening with Sian Brereton telling us about the financial opportunities available from the Technology Strategy Board and an exciting exhibition put on by some of our networkers in the Mosaic Café. It was a magnificent effort by staff and exhibitors alike who managed to deliver, mount, label, hang, erect and display their work in time for …

We could hardly have planned for worse weather to our laid back Cuban-style summer barbeque. It had rained all day, and there was no sign of it letting up in time for the barbeque. Luckily, Leeds College of Art & Design does have a covered courtyard; and we were able to light the barbie, throw on the ribs and chicken, crack open the chilled beers and carry on regardless. A last minute email to …

On Thursday 28th August we were delighted to have Carl Hopkins as our keynote Speaker. Carl Hopkins, a marketing and business guru of 25 years experience; ex-chair of The JDA Group; founder of Kloog; alumni of Leeds College of Art & Design; Non-executive director of ‘Forward Ladies’; Head bod of ‘Agency Bods’; Executive Director of ‘JumbleAID’; a …

In March we were thrilled to have Sir John Hegarty, founding member of advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), as our keynote speaker. Sir John gave us some very good reasons why it is a great time to be in advertising.It’s an amazing time to be an agencyThe advertising game has changed because technology is driving advertising now.Technology has always driven change. Sir John pointed …

Martyn Ware was born in Sheffield. By the age of 25 he had formed The Human League, the production company and label British Electric Foundation and Heaven 17. Martyn has written, performed and produced two Human League, two BEF and nine Heaven 17 albums. As a record producer and artist he has featured on recordings totalling over 50 million sales worldwide.Martyn lectures extensively on music …

It was a full-house at January’s Creative Networks event at Leeds College of Art – such was Martin Parr’s popularity amongst both photographers and the creative industry as a whole.Parr’s wry humour was prevalent before he even began his talk; opting for the audience to vote on which of the three presentations he had earlier prepared. It was a close call between two of the options, but after a …

What is a pitch? At each Creative Networks event, three or four people will make a pitch to theaudience. The pitch may be:- 1.    A straightforward sales pitch to say what your business offers.    2.    A call for collaborators for a current project   3.    An invitation to offer financial or professional support …

There aren’t many networking opportunities which are really really fun but Creative Networks fulfils that role. It’s an almost unique chance to meet and mingle with a wide range of creative people from digital to photography, from graphic design to fine art. It’s all age groups from students to suits and all levels of experience. It’s informal, inclusive and inspiring and …