Hi All,
Thank you for joining me here, on my often misspelled, grammar lacking blog. I will endeavour were possible to make my writing at least some what legible but I am not promising anything!
So where are We? Well I am already 6 months in to my PhD journey (counting that on my fingers right now just brought on some minor palpitations) I am neck deep in litereture, trying to find a narrative in a sea of information. A task not made any easier by living in another county to my university campus and juggling bringing up a toddler, managing a household and taking care of the pet cat.
Working from home the last few months has certainly had it's ups and downs. Yes , I can save money on travel, be close to my baby if he needs me, minimise the amount of extortionately priced hot drinks I purchace throughout the day BUT it also increases my opportunities for distraction. The house work for one is never ending or the small errands that all add up to fill an entire day, leaving me to spend the night typing away at my laptop in bed. A bed that is usually shared by my over 6ft tall husband, our cat and my toddler laid in full starfish position giving no notice to the other bodies around him.
At times it has felt like a real juggling act, no more so than a recent Tuesday afternoon when I found my office had become a race track for my son's new toy car and my office chair the cats new bed! Working in this environment is not impossible but certainly not ideal.
I had posted a few weeks prior on a local community Facebook group asking for a place to work from and as luck would have it a co-working space had just opend in the town.
Newtons of Bury is a beautiful building with a long history in the town. A former antique furniture shop, for many years the large wooden chair that sat in-front of the store was a recognisable landmark for all visitors to the town. Not wanting to remove this piece of local history, the new owners of the site have endeavoured to keep the charm of the place alive. Firstly, the name has remained the same, as has the quirky antique style, the large chair is also set to be making a comeback!
Although antique the space is certainly not Old fashioned! With modern standing desk work space, high speed WI-FI , well presented function rooms and a stocked kitchen with a fantastic coffee machine, the space is a really unique location to work from.
Aside from the aesthetics Newtons also has a really welcoming community vibe. On my first visit I was graciously welcomed by Vicky, a member of staff who is also a hard working student on a foundation art course. Vicky was very friendly and approachable whilst giving me the grand tour of the building, during which I was also introduced to Mathew. Although he is the person running the business I found Mathew getting stuck in to a bit of DIY and decorating, whilst intermittently taking business phone calls. It was inspiriting to see this was a place with no air of elitism, just a very professional welcoming bunch.
Vicky explained to me the set up that I could use the space, access all the drinks and food available or bring in my own for as little as £3 an hour. I opted for the full day price of just £12 or £9 with a student discount!!
I set myself up on a beautiful wooden antique table, in-front of an impressive fire place and next to the kitchen. I helped my self to a cup of earl grey and a toasted hot cross bun before settling down to get some work done.
I got sooo much done! It was certainly the most productive day I have had in a long while, with minimal distractions but also some lovely professional company. Around lunch time for example I was joined in the office by another user of the space, Yvette Freeman. Yvette, a freelance costume and set designer, had recently moved back to the North West after working on a number of projects in London. Currently working on a production for the Bury Met, it was fascinating to talk with her and get to know her as well as about her work. Yvette also brought with her a set of daffodils to place in the space, some leaflets about upcoming cultural events in the area and was in talks with Mathew about putting up some of her personal art work. Mathew was completely open to the idea and welcomed the notion of co-working space users having some level of ownership over the space. It really is a brilliant space for collaboration and community.
Aside from a co-working space the team at Newtons host a verity of different events from Admin Fridays, that this week included free pancakes to Lego building and a brew sessions. The space is so adaptable and the team are so flexible and open to ideas, it is the ideal space for any community group, freelancer, student or simply just a group of friends wanting somewhere to play a board game with a nice cup of tea.
I have already introduced my husband who is an actor and musical theatre performer to the space, he is now looking to book a room out of an evening to host rehearsals for his performing group. As well as a friend of mine who is currently trying to set up a community lead housing project focusing on tiny eco houses.
I really can not sing their praises highly enough and I look forward to working in the space for years to come!
To find out more about Newtons you can find them online here:
Twitter: @Newtonscowo
Facebook: Newtons of Bury
Instagram: @Newtonscowo
To keep up to date with my research follow me on Twitter @charlotte_o89
Thank you for joining me here, on my often misspelled, grammar lacking blog. I will endeavour were possible to make my writing at least some what legible but I am not promising anything!
So where are We? Well I am already 6 months in to my PhD journey (counting that on my fingers right now just brought on some minor palpitations) I am neck deep in litereture, trying to find a narrative in a sea of information. A task not made any easier by living in another county to my university campus and juggling bringing up a toddler, managing a household and taking care of the pet cat.
Working from home the last few months has certainly had it's ups and downs. Yes , I can save money on travel, be close to my baby if he needs me, minimise the amount of extortionately priced hot drinks I purchace throughout the day BUT it also increases my opportunities for distraction. The house work for one is never ending or the small errands that all add up to fill an entire day, leaving me to spend the night typing away at my laptop in bed. A bed that is usually shared by my over 6ft tall husband, our cat and my toddler laid in full starfish position giving no notice to the other bodies around him.
At times it has felt like a real juggling act, no more so than a recent Tuesday afternoon when I found my office had become a race track for my son's new toy car and my office chair the cats new bed! Working in this environment is not impossible but certainly not ideal.
I had posted a few weeks prior on a local community Facebook group asking for a place to work from and as luck would have it a co-working space had just opend in the town.
Newtons of Bury is a beautiful building with a long history in the town. A former antique furniture shop, for many years the large wooden chair that sat in-front of the store was a recognisable landmark for all visitors to the town. Not wanting to remove this piece of local history, the new owners of the site have endeavoured to keep the charm of the place alive. Firstly, the name has remained the same, as has the quirky antique style, the large chair is also set to be making a comeback!
Although antique the space is certainly not Old fashioned! With modern standing desk work space, high speed WI-FI , well presented function rooms and a stocked kitchen with a fantastic coffee machine, the space is a really unique location to work from.
Aside from the aesthetics Newtons also has a really welcoming community vibe. On my first visit I was graciously welcomed by Vicky, a member of staff who is also a hard working student on a foundation art course. Vicky was very friendly and approachable whilst giving me the grand tour of the building, during which I was also introduced to Mathew. Although he is the person running the business I found Mathew getting stuck in to a bit of DIY and decorating, whilst intermittently taking business phone calls. It was inspiriting to see this was a place with no air of elitism, just a very professional welcoming bunch.
Vicky explained to me the set up that I could use the space, access all the drinks and food available or bring in my own for as little as £3 an hour. I opted for the full day price of just £12 or £9 with a student discount!!
I set myself up on a beautiful wooden antique table, in-front of an impressive fire place and next to the kitchen. I helped my self to a cup of earl grey and a toasted hot cross bun before settling down to get some work done.
I have already introduced my husband who is an actor and musical theatre performer to the space, he is now looking to book a room out of an evening to host rehearsals for his performing group. As well as a friend of mine who is currently trying to set up a community lead housing project focusing on tiny eco houses.
I really can not sing their praises highly enough and I look forward to working in the space for years to come!
To find out more about Newtons you can find them online here:
Twitter: @Newtonscowo
Facebook: Newtons of Bury
Instagram: @Newtonscowo
To keep up to date with my research follow me on Twitter @charlotte_o89
Comments
Post a Comment