This is probably the best thing I've seen all year. Forget fancy tech, bleeping synths, prime cut type… wooden blocks with shapes on it is where it's at.

I wish I'd had this idea. Created by the ultra talented Miller Goodman

This month Creative Review features a piece on Creative Communities. I was asked to offer my thoughts on the creative community we belong to, that is of Digbeth and the Custard Factory.

I outlined how the city of Birmingham and the Custard Factory were key factors in establishing us as a company, and we've stayed loyal through thick and thin over these past five years as others have moved on.

However the piece did focus on more my negatives than my positives. So to extend that article I've decided to post what I originally wrote to give a more balanced opinion of creativity around this neck of the woods.

We set TAK! up in Birmingham in 2004 primarily because incentives Birmingham offered. For a start it was (and still is) relatively cheap compared to other cities like Manchester and London. Unlike like those cities at the time, Birmingham had a fairly compact design scene. Our introduction to the local scene was fairly straightforward (considering we were new to Birmingham) with assistance of a Creative Space grant (mis-quoted in the CR article as the 'locate Birmingham initiative') from the council and Business Link WM — essentially that grant paid for our first years studio space which was a massive help. This buffer of a years rent enabled us to find out feet and more importantly find our clients.

Having said that, with the advent of Broadband internet our client base didn't need to be in the same city (or country) as us. Birmingham is fairly central however so visiting clients across the country is a fairly simple task — another key reason to move here.

However the main reason for moving to Birmingham was The Custard Factory complex. I was first made aware of The Custard Factory back in 1995 when a group of university friends went to visit the place and they came back highly enthused about the vibrancy and creative energy within the complex. Situated in Digbeth and allegedly bought for £1, The Custard Factory is a dizzy mixture of studios, bars, restaurants, clubs and independent shops. It's without doubt the pulse of Birmingham and the five years we've been here have been fun, exciting and inspiring. Our rent is fairly cheap all things considered and the building is large, quirky and raw. A bit like the Truman Brewery around 2001 when that started to get redeveloped. I think you can currently get a 3m x 3m basic painting space for about £30 a week.

Digbeth is a bit like Shoreditch in 1996, tatty, noisy and full of underground secrets. The area has some big plans abound from a vast extension to The Custard Factory to a park and various retail amenities. To be honest, it needs it but I hope it doesn't lose it's soul and become full of twats… like Shoreditch.

This combination of low cost, inspiring location and interesting people has allowed us to develop our company in the way we wanted — slowly and steadily. The low overheads meant we were never forced into churning out work to simply stay afloat. I'd say that was the single most important aspect to why Birmingham, Digbeth and The Custard Factory has helped us — it gave us time to develop ourselves.

The grants we received really helped us (and other companies in this area) get started. We got a 2nd grant after about 2 years to create promotional materials to attract new business. Right now we're discussing funding to help us work with a lead generation agency to attract new business from further afield. Creative company support is very well covered in the West Midlands.

But it's by no means perfect. The community aspects to the complex have slowly eroded over the 5 years we've been here. Before we arrived there would be quirky bars, skate ramps in nightclubs, barbecues for tenants every Friday in the summer and generally a stronger creative vibe. Over the 5 years it would seem that the remit for tenants to only come from the creative industry has slackened and I'm sure it's this that's killed the vibe quite a bit.

It could also be the state of the building — I know many companies as they have gotten bigger have moved out because the building is a bit shabby - don't mention the toilets. Often there's no heating and being above a nightclub does mean you have a noisy neighbour but personally I don't mind the noise or the events — those were one of the reasons we moved here, and still are here.

Front of house can be a bit sloppy at times and the local cafe / bar has all but given up on itself. Also I feel many Brummies are too blinded by the bling of the Bullring to even consider venturing down to the Custard Factory for some alternative shopping and culture. I've seen some great independent shops come and go over the my time here and it's sad to see such a quick turnover.

Maybe it's the area? Digbeth is a very unwelcoming part of town and at night the lack of people and lights can make it feel very dangerous — even though I've never had any trouble myself — I know some people don't feel safe at night here. Aside from some new build flats the area hasn't changed at all since we've been here even though much has been promised. There's a ton of factories, car dealers and a giant dual carriage way running right through it. Hardly inspiring. There's no cash points, no Post Office, no supermarket or any other essentials required for a creative community to thrive.

The Custard Factory complex is the jewel in a tatty crown.

If Birmingham City Council do something to address this the whole experience could be transformed dramatically. Key is to bring people to the quirky places that actually exist in this side of the city.

The Custard Factory is (slowly) sorting itself out; there's a popular Flea Market on Saturdays bringing in new crowds and Ideal skateboard shop now lives here with an indoor ramp that brings in a good new crowd. There's also a new venue called Space2 which hosts gigs, parties and even exhibitions. All positive additions.

A meeting with the building managers have confirmed change and there is currently a massive redevelopment happening at the front of the Custard Factory with a new wing being built.

I'm sure this this will be the start of the next wave.

By publishing this in full, I'm hoping it offers a balanced opinion of Birmingham's creative community centered around Digbeth & the Custard Factory. I would highly recommend any creatives to set up here as there is great potential for even better things and there is a lot of support to help you get started.

Wow — the Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource has been shortlisted for a BIMA in the Arts & Culture sector — fantastic! We're very chuffed to have the work recognised as being good enough to make the shortlist alongside some other fantastic projects and talented companies.

We're winners already!

Check out the rest of the shortlisted entries

More new work annonucements. We're also super excited to be working with Capsule on their Home of Metal project.

“For too long Birmingham and the Black Country have failed to celebrate what is rightfully theirs, to claim the city and the region as the birth place of “heavy metal”.  Its time to start celebrating!!!

The 'Home Of Metal' project aims to create a digital archive of everything heavy metal from the 60s to now. An online library of images, interviews, stories and various pieces of memorabila dedicated to telling the story of Metal and its unique birthplace. Focusing on the innovators of the genre and those that continued to develop it: Black Sabbath , Led Zeppelin , Judas Priest , Napalm Death and Godflesh.”

Our task is to redevelop the site to allow metal fans to upload their personal archive of metal memrobellia. Ultimately this giant archive will form the basis of a permanent exhibition in Birmingham, no doubt a shrine to future metal heads.

Awesome!!

PS: The image above has no connection to metal music. Instead it's from airbrush artist Hajime Sorayama who worked on Heavy Metal magazine. More pics from the magazine here.

We're very excited to be working with the hugely influential Ian Emes on his new personal website and forthcoming film. For those who didn't get the memo, Ian worked with Pink Floyd to create visuals for Dark Side of the Moon as well as cresating masterpieces such as The Beard and the Tubular Bells film.

Ian is also an accomplished commercials and sitcom director, the site will present this work also.

For more inspiration visit Ian's YouTube channel.