On 30 January 2018, over 60 entrepreneurial alumni showed up to the launch event of the UAL Enterprising Alumni Association.
Guests networking in not just a shop
On arrival, the guests were offered a welcome drink and to browse UAL’s not just a shop, which is stocked solely by work from graduates of UAL.
The guests were then welcomed by Mark Shickle, President of the Enterprising Alumni Association. Mark stressed the importance of the alumni network, and how the new Association plans to harness this by creating an exciting series of events and activities to help support our entrepreneurial alumni. He asked all the guests to contribute to feedback and spread the word about the Association to their colleagues and friends.
Mark Shickle, President of the Enterprising Alumni Association
Mark also introduced the Enterprising Committee Members attending the event, all UAL alumni volunteers, who all kindly give up their time to run the Enterprising Association. These members are Beki Gowing, Head of Communications, Gemma Vanson and Rebecca Morter, joint Head of Events and Hannah Horn, Head of Membership.
Babette Wasserman
Babette Wasserman, a Central Saint Martins graduate of BA (hons) Jewellery Design (1995) and successful jewellery designer, then gave an excellent talk about her career and experiences as a creative entrepreneur. She provided some valuable insight into common challenges faced by those running their own business, and how she has manoeuvred them. The themes she covered were selling, targeting design appeal, competitive analysis, balancing creative output, business management and personal development.
Gemma Vanson
Rebecca Morter
Beki Gowing
Hannah Horn
After Babette’s talk, alumni split into five breakout sessions, which were led by the Committee Members. They discussed the themes Babette had covered and whether they had dealt with similar situations. They also spoke about what they would like to see from future Enterprising Alumni Association events, and any issues they were currently facing in their personal ventures.
The event was a great opportunity for the alumni team to meet with so many creative entrepreneurs, and hear from them what kind of support they would appreciate in the future. We would like to thank everyone involved in the event, especially Mark Shickle, Babette Wasserman and the Enterprising Committee volunteers who so kindly give up their time to make it all happen.
If you are interested in hearing more about the Enterprising Alumni Association, or getting involved in future events, please email us at alumni@arts.ac.uk.