Two amazing new opportunities arose for Cloudscape Studio in February and this meant many finalised designs and light creations were made. It was a busy and productive month providing a range of exposure for the business.
I showed my artwork at my first public exhibition called Visual Impact which was hosted at MTC Coventry and opened on 13th February. This exhibition featured various types of work from photography through to sculpture and all were creations by Loughborough University students.
Another amazing opportunity was that I was invited to exhibit at NACUE Student Enterprise Conference 2020 which brought together students to learn about business and to network with each other. I presented many different lights on my stand and talked to students about my background studying art and how I applied this to my business. This was a great chance to represent Loughborough University and Cloudscape Studio.
NACUE Student Enterprise Conference 2020
Last September I attended the European Start-up Festival 2019 in Malmo, Sweden which had lots of different workshops, speakers and networking sessions. This is why I jumped at the opportunity to attend the Student Enterprise Conference because I had learned so much during the Start-Up Festival 2019. Not only was I able to attend the event I was also fortunate enough to be offered a stand to present my business and lights to everyone attending.
I took a selection of lights down to the Loughborough University London Campus, the hosts of this years festival, and set up in the entrance corridor along with other business start-ups. I presented a pair of copper cube lights, the copper tower, a brake light and a pair of bike hub lights. Alongside this I had business cards and my social media links printed out so passersby could check out Cloudscape Studio’s online presence.
During the two days of the conference I attended several different workshops and talks when I wasn’t on the stand talking about Cloudscape Studio. Here is the list of what I attended:
Saturday 15th February
Confidence : Level Up – Maggie Chen from Girls in Charge
This interactive workshop taught you how to improve confidence through your use of body language and speech as well as how to make the most of networking opportunities. Tools and tricks which you can use both in business and in everyday life.
How to design a brand identity and why – Stephanie Bazin from TCS
We were asked to create a moodboard as a team for a specified product. We used magazines, coloured paper and words to try and represent our product effectively, conveying the brand through visuals.
Sunday 16th February
Is it a pitch? Is it a Speech? Is it a conversation? – David Trayford from Talk-ware
This talk explored how to give an impactful speech and that by keeping to the fundamentals of your business and utilising core facts you can build a memorable speech, pitch or conversation. Remember that you are the main content, that you will be more successful if you come across as authentic and real.
The future of commerce – Chris Swadling from Facebook
An information filled session which provided some useful tools that can be used for a small start-up business which needs exposure via social media. The different ways you can utilise Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp for business was explained and after the talk there was a useful mini Q&A session too.
Visual Impact at MTC Coventry
A few days prior to NACUE I attended the opening of the Visual Impact exhibition. This exhibition was the first time I have shown work from Cloudscape Studio and what better place to have my work featured than at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry. I submitted a set of three Brake Lights to the exhibition, this exhibition provided exposure for my work as well as the opportunity to sell.
The three Brake Lights all differed slightly to make them unique and the prices differed by light size. They were displayed in the main room of the exhibition and were the only light artwork on display at the exhibition, it's good to stand out!
The opening of the exhibition was on 13th February 2020 and it was amazing to see so many people attend the event. The exhibition was curated by two current Loughborough University students who arranged the exhibition as a part of their placement year at MTC.
February Overview
With lots of light artworks being made and shown to the public it was great to get some face-to-face reactions to my work. It was exciting to attend an exhibition opening which featured my lights placed alongside other Loughborough University students art. The opportunity in London allowed me to meet so many interesting people, learn some tips and tricks to improve my business skills and hopefully gain some commission work in the upcoming months.
I do now have a few commissions to get going on as well as setting up my online shop; the commerce talk at NACUE has really pushed me to get my lights available for sale online. It was a busy month and remarkably inspiring, let's hope the momentum of the business keeps pushing forwards and Cloudscape Studio continues on in the right direction.
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