Our Venture Into Pastures New

P1190012 I am leaving today for a short break in France with my family. This week has been ArtWeeks in Oxfordshire and I thought it would be a great opportunity to give you all a tour of place that we are now working. Over the past few months I have made many new friends not the least of which are those I have come to know and work alongside at the Sylva Wood Centre. This is where we have our studio and now film from. We thought up the idea of letting you meet my neighbours for yourself as best we can so we filmed many of those who now form what I see as perhaps the ‘Society’. I say that because it’s not a commune or even a community of people simply sharing what they have as such, but individual entities with their own vision for developing their own businesses but then consciously aware that creative work impacts the greater whole that many may never see as isolated entities. P1180928 Here there’s a unity with many shared interests and goals as entrepreneurial spirits striving to develop ideas and at the same time a place to bounce ideas and concepts off one another and even collaborate in many diverse ways. Working as they do, and I include my work in this too, they are able to achieve objectives they might not be able to achieve so readily otherwise. This is very different and in no way compares to say a business park or an industrial complex.  Much of what is shared is more an exchange; perhaps even a common barter of effort and energy that is often unquantifiable in monetary terms. This synthesising of ideas and concepts gives all the more support in a society or community of sharing, caring and such adjectives cannot really describe what takes place in such a place. P1180512 So, see what you think and ask yourself if this isn’t something you might see as a business model to be emulated even on the national and even global scale to counter some of anonymity and isolationism we encounter so much in today’s working culture. Here is the video, enjoy!

9 Comments

  1. that was great ,really enjoyed it. i knew that tool cabinet would end up in oxford

  2. thank you so much for sharing this, this is just like a professional “men’s” shed , not a million miles away from the community men’s shed that I’m involved with of which there are 3oo now and a lot more planned , there are plenty of disused industrial units in this country that could be used for fantastic projects like this, there is nothing better than working with people who love what they do, and will go out of their way to help others achieve what they want to do . it’s the Paul sellers effect happening before our eyes.

  3. “From our roving reporter Paul”!
    Thanks Paul, puts your shop in context.

  4. Mr Sellers, and team
    Thanks for the video!
    That place, and that creative/working space looks amassing and very pleasant to work.
    You may lost all the ‘spooky ghost’ and the appealing castle, but now you have a all new different ‘air to breathe’ and that just may be what your need for this new stage.
    All the best to you all at the ‘center’ specially to the my favorites – the WWMC team!

  5. Looks like a fantastic place to set up shop Paul. I can only imagine the creative energy that can be found when working in a place that is filled with like-minded individuals. This looks to be the fledgling beginnings of something quite special.

    Thanks for the tour!

  6. Thanks so much, Paul, for sharing your new professional home (yes, I know you consider yourself an amateur!). What a rich environment you have. I am very happy for you.
    All best,
    Steve

  7. Paul, thank you for the tour I sure enjoyed that, and I bet it is awesome to be surrounded by all that different talent. Nice cozy places to work but yet have neighbors close by. You mentioned a new place, are you going to build a bigger stand a lone shop somewhere? Or just stay were you are at ?

    By the way enjoy your short Holiday in France with your Family I bet it will be awesome. It has been over 40 years since I was last in France, Italy, Monte Carlo and England. It was a Honeymoon gift from my parents after we were married for a couple years and couldn’t go on a Honeymoon when we were first married do to work commitments.

    Steve

  8. Hi Paul,

    Hope you and yours have a great time in France.

    If up north and in Lille and need any advice on where to go, drop me a mail as my wife lived there for 10 years.

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