Our Spring 2023 Programme has begun!
Our 12 Week Spring 2023 programme is officially underway! Thanks to their generous funding, this project is delivered in partnership with the Goldsmiths’ Centre, supported by the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity. Their support means we have been able to once again collaborate with the YMCA to work with 6 new Makers this spring!
Our unique creative training programmes are co-created alongside temporary accommodation providers, tailored to improve the experience of those living in temporary accommodation through re-engagement, an increased sense of self-worth and ultimately higher move-on rates from hostels. We do this through taking our Makers through the process of design, marketing and selling jewellery. It is our ambition to re-frame hostels from dead-end situations to places of momentum, creativity and opportunity.
We've been busy interviewing our next cohort of Makers and wanted to share our first update with you!
Taster Session - Thursday 9th Feb
In the canteen of a north London hostel, Jason sets the table. Pliers, nail files, emery boards, and a rainbow of acetate. Hostel residents that are drifting through the space gently get pulled in by Jason’s filing, sanding and the infectious enthusiasm he radiates when jewellery making. People who have never seen jewellery made in the flesh slowly pull up chairs, pick up a pair of pliers, and are guided through the initial steps of Pivot’s tried and tested making process. Hostel-safe, the process is designed to use rivets to piece together different elements that will eventually make a whole. Residents get a small but unique insight into the work we do: Pivoting lives through creativity. A pair of earrings later, the sign-up sheet for interviews to join the Spring 2023 programme becomes full.
Week 1 - Thursday 16th Feb 2023
6 places to offer. Double the sign-ups. Jason and Sabella prepare the room - try and make it feel approachable and comfy for those coming through over the next 5 hours. Questions printed, pens at the ready and coffees resting warm, they wait. The lack of structure attributed to hostel life unsurprisingly means the first person arrives 20 minutes late. We chat, we listen, they tell us why they’re interested in the programme. They have a background in carpentry and love the peace of mind they get from focusing on something creative. There's a knock and the door opens. We tell the next participant we’ll be with them in 5 minutes. We check the time; 5 minutes early.
The next resident is so warmly enthusiastic. They want to get their teeth into jewellery making as they already know how much calmer they feel when in a creative flow-state. We know instantly that they’re a perfect fit for the programme.
4 people later when the room is quiet, an inquisitive head pops around the doorframe wondering what we’re doing in there. “Is there space for me to jump in?” We ring the next person on the list - once, twice, three times: no answer. We invite them in, thrilled by their eagerness to seize the day, and ask them what the last thing they made was, what got their creative juices flowing. They laugh and say, the spag bowl that’s getting cold in the next room. We listen to their stories of cooking with family, of enjoying making something from start to finish, and seeing other people’s enjoyment from their creation.
A handful more residents pass through with their histories and their futures ahead of them. We say what we can offer to them, to get them to the place they want to get to and ask them how Pivot can support them on their journey.
COMING UP Week 2 -Thursday 23rd Feb 2023
- Calls with programme participants - all really happy!
- Coaching session with Vida Carmel
- Employment support and co-creation
