MADE Competition:

Workstation office winners announced!

Showroom Workstation recently teamed up with MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival to offer start-up businesses a fantastic opportunity to establish themselves in the thriving heart of Sheffield’s Cultural Industries Quarter.

Delegates at the 2011 MADE Festival in September were given the opportunity to enter a competition to win a six month office rental at the Workstation Creative Business Centre in Sheffield city centre. A second winner was selected to win a 12 month ‘Virtual Office’ at the Workstation. Entrants had to work within the creative and digital sector and needed to explain, in 50 words, why they would benefit from being based at the Workstation.

Responses poured in from MADE delegates and included everything from digital marketing companies to fashion designers to film production companies from Sheffield and beyond. Ian Wild, Showroom Workstation Chief Executive and Kelli Parnham, Workstation Manager, finally whittled the candidates down to the two lucky winners.

The winner of the six month office rental is Michael Hayes of Urban Entertainment. Urban Entertainment is a rapidly growing company which provides huge mobile screens for a variety of events such as open-air ‘pop up’ cinemas, drive-in movies, weddings, festivals and parties. They recently provided a 40ft inflatable screen for a drive-in screening of The Full Monty at Don Valley Bowl and are increasingly being called on to provide equipment for high-profile events of this nature.

Michael currently runs Urban Entertainment from home, his business has grown so rapidly he simply hasn’t found the time to set himself up with a proper office. The Workstation will provide the perfect new home for his business, placing him in good company alongside other creative businesses.

Michael Hayes said:

“It’s great news, as a new business, being associated with a creative establishment such as The Workstation will give us a springboard to help us reach the next level.”

The second winner is Ali Musa from Sky High Design, a web design and marketing company currently based in Leicester. Sky High have a growing number of clients in Sheffield and have recently developed a marketing campaign for a new student night at a local nightclub. Other clients include Irony Fashion Store and Village India Festival. The Virtual Office at the Workstation will provide Sky High Design with a professional base in the city, including a business address and mailbox, telephone answering service, support and promotion.

Ali Musa said:

"Working with Showroom Workstation, through the MADE competition that we are delighted to have won, will give us the opportunity to establish a base in the North; an objective we’ve had for quite some time. Sky High is a company of innovation, we are constantly researching and refining our methods to ensure our clients stay ahead of their competition. Alongside the MADE competition, we would like to announce the launch of our latest venture, Project 5 - a five-day, five-step website solution targeted towards small businesses looking to build a web presence. We hope that many of Sheffield’s entrepreneurs will take advantage of this.”

The Showroom Workstation hosted several events at the 2011 MADE Festival, including the hugely popular TEDx Sheffield. The competition is a continuation of the proactive relationship between the Showroom Workstation and the MADE Festival, and now attention will be turned to developing this relationship further for the 2012 MADE Festival.

Kelli Parnham, Workstation Manager said:

“Over the last 20 years the Workstation has been supporting entrepreneurs and start-up businesses, working with MADE is a great way to continue this tradition. We’re constantly bringing fresh talent into the Workstation and the MADE competition fast tracks the next generation of local entrepreneurs into an established community of inspiring creative companies, giving them the best possible grounding to grow their business.”

Brendan Moffett, Director of Marketing Sheffield who organised the festival, said:

"I am delighted to see this MADE Festival competition making a real difference to these small businesses. I hope the winning entrepreneurs will really grab the opportunities that being located at the Showroom Workstation presents."