What if a high street, city centre coffee shop was able to encourage an arts community to flourish – enabling exploration of the arts and sciences, benefiting health and well-being, and being a space to meet, share and create - from hosting theatre and film screenings, to being the relaxed space for ideas to grow and much more.
There is a major need for the high street to contribute to the wellbeing and enlightenment of its community and to retain and re-distribute profits into the local economy. Home of Honest Coffee aims to start addressing this by using a co-operative model business and donating all profits to local community charities.
HOW FELLOWS CAN HELP
Home of Honest Coffee is looking for Fellows with expertise in:
- Building industry; for the variety of building stages we intend to take the space through, the team would need advice and skills to develop the project
- Chef or catering specialist; as the project is developed, it will source locally and minimise waste, and so advice on effective systems for food and drink will be required
Project Team
Managing Director - Future Artists
NW
5 Comments
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Richard Stewart Hayward
21st September 2017
Hi Mark,
Coincidentally I have just posted a comment regarding the RSA 'Enlightenment Coffeehouse' (discussion at the 'House' next Monday evening) initiative which is not a bad fit with your apparent intentions. I have a background in architecture & urban design (primarily in education) and my 'technical' capabilities could only be of limited use - but I'd like to help in a modest way, if an appropriate situation arises !
I wish you well with the project.
leslie x hallam
21st September 2016
Hi Mark,
Hope things are going well for your venture.
I run a Masters course in the Psychology of Advertising at Lancaster Uni; part of the course each year involves the students working in small teams on a 'real world' research/communications problem for clients (past clients include CBS Outdoor, JDRF, Dimensions Care, ZenithOptimedia, FatMedia, Red Square...). This happens between Christmas and Easter, and we (the team are heavily supervised by me) work on a direct costs basis - so very cheap. (A typical project costs around £800, which translates to about £25k if the work was undertaken by a commercial research agency.)
If we can be of any help to you with this, do please give me a shout - I try to use this opportunity to bring benefit to pro-social business when possible.
Sandy Wilkie
8th March 2016
Hi Mark, I'm a new RSA Fellow in the North-West. I don't have any building or accredited food skills (other than an interest in cooking & coffee), but I am very interested in the concept of social space within communities to encourage creative writing groups, community activities etc.
I'm also a new Board Member for Cartwheel Arts in Heywood, who use social space for artistic groups as a way of reducing social exclusion.
Happy to input to this project if you are looking for resources.
Best wishes, Sandy
Ian Banks
11th February 2015
Hi Mark, I wrote to you via this site last week but just realised after being told by RSA that it must have crashed after I sent it. Was just writing to say if you needed any architectural / construction advice on any aspect of you project set up to feel free to give me a shout. Good luck with it all...
Regards
Ian Banks
Nicola Saunter
2nd February 2015
Mark
This is a great idea and one that some coffee shops already offer, albeit on an informal basis. My experience running my own coffee house group (Boston Tea Party in the west country) was that art, music, poetry, community was essential for us to remain sane and enjoy our working life but it did take resources and different skills from running a profitable catering business.
Happy to help if I can.