A strong craft sector gives a city character, boosts local economy
Rethink Ireland's €700,000 Step-Up Fund recipients: Declan Sweeney, St Gabriel's Orthotics; Deirdre Mortell, CEO Rethink Ireland; Alex Stewart, Galway Community Circus; Maeve Murphy, Benchspace, and Anne Maher, The Urban Co-op, pictured in a workshop in Benchspace HQ at Cork's Marina. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan
Creative craft industries have an important role to play in defining the identity of a city, says Maeve Murphy, operations manager with Benchspace in Cork.
Based in Marina Commercial Park, Benchspace is a collaborative working hub giving people from disadvantaged backgrounds with resources to start new ventures in Cork, availing of the open access, shared space and the wood, steel and laser equipment. Demand hugely overshoots the 5,000 sq ft space, so the hope is to move to larger premises soon.
Having started out in 2017 focused on woodwork, the space currently accommodates 15 people full-time in studio units, ranging from wood and steel craft, furniture startups, jewellers and visual artists to an engineer developing a new scientific prototype. It has another 20 or so members, who come in to use the equipment without occupying a full-time work unit.
“This really started with furniture-making graduates who saw a gap in the market for somewhere that creative people could go to use industrial equipment and it has grown from there,” said Maeve Murphy. “Now we’re looking at scaling up. We are at capacity and we have a long waiting list. We need a bigger space.”
Benchspace is one of five groups to receive backing under Rethink Ireland’s €700,000 Step-Up Fund, which supports mid-level social enterprises operating successfully to provide vital services in communities across Ireland.
The others are: Galway Community Circus, an access programme for young people; St Gabriel’s Orthotics in Limerick, providing affordable orthotics to children and adults with physical disabilities; The Shona Project, an educational programme for girls in Waterford; and The Urban Co-op, promoting food nutrition and awareness in Limerick.
These five social enterprises will receive a combination of cash grants and business supports to fund expansion. The Step-Up Fund provides each awardee with cash grants of up to €118,750, support budget worth €12,000, and a place on Rethink Ireland’s Accelerator Programme.
The Social Enterprise Step-Up Fund 2023-24 is a two-year fund created by Rethink Ireland in partnership with Tomar Trust and the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund. Rethink Ireland provides cash grants and business supports to charities and social enterprises working in Irish communities across the country.
The Step-Up Fund focuses on elevated funding for social enterprises at the next stage and aims to directly impact the social enterprise ecosystem in Ireland, supporting and expanding this vital sector to drive change.
Deirdre Mortell, CEO, Rethink Ireland, said: “Social Enterprises are integral to driving equality in Ireland. Equality is fundamental to a sustainable economy and a just society. These community-based social enterprises have developed successful models through which to deliver vital services in our communities, addressing inequality.
“Access to funding and business supports for already established initiatives is critical for the continuity and growth of scaling social enterprises in Ireland. Rethink Ireland set out a Manifesto for 2030 in 2021, detailing the Ireland we want – one that is fair, inclusive and sustainable.”
Maeve Cavanagh, manager of Tomar Trust, said that the trust is supporting the Step-Up Fund in order to encourage further philanthropy in Ireland. She said she looks forward to seeing these five social enterprises working to improve the lives of others.
Benchspace is a very good example of how not-for-profit groups can help nurture creative startups. The group is underpinned by an impressive voluntary board and has a wide range of highly skilled tutors supporting and training the creative startups sharing the space.
In creating the hub, the group’s leaders visited similar shared spaces like Building BloQs in London. They also looked at how Dutch authorities developed hubs for creative startups in Eindhoven in factory spaces vacated by the Philips electrical goods group.
“The Rethink Ireland funding is a vital lifeline for us,” said Maeve Murphy. “We’ve done a lot of work on our business enterprise model. We are developing a sustainable model that will allow us to increase employment and create opportunities for creative graduates, many of whom would otherwise choose to live abroad.
“By giving people access to professional quality equipment, we are lowering barriers. We need to buy more equipment and double or triple the space. This space is like a library, except that people borrow equipment instead of books.
“It is important that Cork city should be an attractive place for creative sole traders to live and work. Other parts of the country are looking at our model. We have one goldsmith from Offaly who moved here to work in an environment that is diverse and innovative. We see this space as an oasis for innovation.”
Benchspace welcomes approaches by creative individuals looking for information on its workspace, seeking to learn skills, use the machinery or access workspaces. The group can host a tour of the space. Benchspace is also seeking experienced tutors.
Maeve added: “We’re delighted that Rethink Ireland recognised our ambition to grow as a social enterprise and believed in backing us. We are looking forward to scaling our capacity and services to increase our impact in the creative sector in Cork and further afield.”
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