u/Yooustinkah

Besides Macc Art Space (which seems more crafty than arty) are there any shared artist studios in town available for artists to hire on a rolling contract/hot desk basis?

I’ve used SebSpace before for my freelance work (and the vibe suggests it could really benefit from a creative/designer hub there) but I’m looking to be part of an artist community in a shared space that puts on exhibitions, open studio days etc. and to just generally be around fellow artists.

I’ve found Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek but it’s a 30-min drive on a good-traffic day. Pink MCR looks great too but that’s in Stockport.

Tempted to start one myself if there’s enough interest!

I’m really considering renting a space in a shared artist studio to be part of an art community and be involved in things like group exhibitions and open days.

But I work full time and I’m not sure if renting a space is justified. I’m in the UK and after doing a bit of digging, the monthly rent ranges from £150 to £350, inclusive of utilities, broadband, etc (everything but business rates).

Unfortunately, there are some things happening in my personal life at the moment which means I probably won’t be able to do this for the time being but I’d like to start exploring this possibility, and I’m curious to hear from those who are doing, or have done, this and how it impacted their practice.

As a sort of viewer-led storyline? I know they’ve let viewers vote for what happens (like with Denise’s love triangle), but I’ve often wondered, knowing how much we Redditors love a good storyline theory, that they’ve deliberately come up with the end story but let this community’s theories shape how it unravels.

Has anyone else been in the same boat? I’m a content designer with 12 years’ experience across government and financial services. Being a contractor means I’ve dabbled with all sorts and it’s helped me identify recurring patterns and risks.

I’m really good at my job. But, like a lot of content designers, I’m good at knowing a service or journey inside and out and connecting dots that other people overlook.

I’m getting invited to more and more meetings for my views and opinions, even in calls that don’t touch on content design. I love the thinking side of my job so I don’t mind this at all.

But I’m also thinking of moving away from content design and into something that leans into these thinky qualities.

Has anyone done something similar that worked for them? I’m hesitant to do service design, product management and BA roles as they’re far too technical and boring. I’m thinking something along the lines of UX Lead or Customer Experience management?

Not like the newer, Amazon KDP smooth white paper, but good old fashioned ivory-coloured novel paper with a bit of toothed texture?

I’ve tried looking on Etsy but the majority is “vintage paper” where it’s just someone printing a generic aged look to bog-standard printer paper.

I’ve tried buying old novels but I don’t want any text and it’s wasteful.

Loved The Sadness after someone here talked about it yesterday, and the level of gore in it. What else can I watch that matches or exceeds this level of gore?

For example, when you started renting a studio or co-working space did you feel incentivised to create more? Whether it was to justify the expense or because you had the space to do it? Did your in-person networking circle expand?

Or was the pressure too much? Did your productivity remain the same but the space just added an unnecessary expense?

It would be good to hear from those too who had the space at home, say a spare room, but still decided to rent a studio.