Rise and Design - Growing a Creative Business.

Growth is key driver for businesses and the regional and national economy.

And since creative businesses delivered over £123 billion in GVA last year, they are a force to be reckoned with.

But 95% of creative businesses have less than 10 employees, so devoting time to driving that growth, whilst focussing on clients and staying creative, isn't always easy.

And growth can take many forms; not everyone wants to create an empire.

So we'll be exploring these issues and more

We'll be joined by Creative UK, who's mission is to, 'place creativity at the heart of the UK’s culture, economy and education system.'

We'll also be hearing from creative businesses who've grown without losing their soul... or their sanity

Speakers include......

Malcolm King, Investment Manager, Creative UK

Creative UK firmly believe in the power of the creative industries to change lives, and their mission is to champion, connect, support and invest in creative people and businesses.

They’re well-versed in what creative businesses need to thrive and know how to make it happen, providing expert resources and financial opportunities that are tailor made for the Creative Industries, offering bespoke investments, access to funding, loans, and growth mentoring.

Malcolm will tell us more about what they can offer, and the things you need to think about when growing your business.

Steve Mayes, Brick This.

Everyone loves Lego but Steve REALLY loves it,.. or more importantly the things you can create with it. What started as a hobby ten years ago is now a fully fledged business, creating commisions for the Freeman Hospital, The Centre for LIfe, and Newcastle United Football Club to name but a few.

Steve has also benefitted from support from Creative UK which has enabled him to expand his studio into a public-facing space where he can hold events and workshops, and will tell us more about his journey of turing his creative passion into a successful business, and what is coming next. He's bringing Lego too !

Elliot Brook, deadgood

deadgood pride themselves on creating furniture, lighting and interior products with personality. Their stridently eclectic collection is designed and made in Britain and supplied to commercial projects and influential brands worldwide.

In their twenty one years, they've grown in innumerable ways - products, clients, design partners, awards, and sales of course.

Elliot will share their story

Sarah Preston, Bamboo Media

Fans of Holby City, Eastenders and Vera may be familiar with Sarah's work, although Ricky Gervais was famously unfamiliar with her name when she appeared with him in Extras.

Latterly shes turned her attention to the other side of the camera, and Bamboo Media Productions currently have a number of projects in development includingThe Third Law, a dark, Victorian crime drama, Alnwick, a spooky tale about a girl who's evacuated to Alnwick Castle during WWII, and our personal favourite The Uncertainly Principle, a psychological thriller infused with sci-fi and action.

If you want hear more of Sarah's journey, then come along.

Andrew Blance, Pasimo

Pasimo aims to introduce novel ways of teaching sign language to make society more inclusive for deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.

With the application of spatial computers, they aim to innovate the way sign language can be taught to make learning applicable to day-to-day usage, by developing hand-free tools that can track hand shapes to help with learning British Sign Language (BSL), streamlining the learning process.

In the future, he hopes to develop different versions that incorporate languages and regional dialects. Now there's a challenge.Andrew will tell us more.

James Hanson, Layers Studio

Layers Studio are a team of designers, developers and business strategists who create compelling digital experiences for clients such as Allianz, Nissan, and Gavurin, as well as many regional brands.

Key to their growth has been the Create Growth programme which they went through in 2023, and James will share the impact this has had on the business, and their plans for future growth.

Rise and Design lasts for approximately three hours, and includes networking before and after speakers. There is a chance to pitch at the end of the speakers' presentations, and you can book a stand for the whole event. We encourage all delegates to stay after presentations for networking - it is one of the most valuable parts of Rise and Design.