How native networks assist inventive folks
Towards the end of last year, the Made by Tottenham creative network was launched in north London by Philippine Nguyen, creative company manager at Haringey Council and director and co-founder of the arts organization Art Night.
Tottenham is one of the most creative areas in London in terms of population, according to Nguyen. This underlines that every fifth person working in the creative sector lives here, from filmmakers to photographers to makers and manufacturers. After speaking to the makers in the region, she found that one of the biggest challenges is that Tottenham is a large area that is difficult to network with.
“It means you have a lot of people who work in the same industry and may not know each other. For example, you have an artist who goes as far as Brick Lane to frame his artwork, but in fact we have picture frames that do really, really good work in the area. This ensures that people in the creative sector can support each other. If you're a fashion designer and want to work with a photographer, why not work more locally? "
Nguyen decided to start a resource that would bring them together in the form of Made by Tottenham. This is a directory of creative freelancers or businesses in the area. It not only sheds light on brands and companies that customers can search for, but also helps creatives in the region to support each other, whether it be in finding suppliers, employees, placing orders and even sharing office space.