insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 14 - April 2016 | Page 87

BUSINESS

Rent-free workspace for seven
innovative Brighton start-ups at FIELD

With ever-increasing rents appearing to be the number one reason why most city centre startups struggle to launch, it’s refreshing to see FIELD, a temporary project at Brighton’s Preston
Barracks, aiming to provide rent-free workspaces to a diverse range of entrepreneurial makers.
After a very successful first round of applications from people needing space to help grow their
businesses, seven innovative start-ups from across Brighton and Hove have been selected to
take residency at FIELD, a brand new initiative that only opened its doors last month.

FIELD’s ultimate goal is to become a
large-scale campus for product design
and technology start-ups, as part of the
regeneration of the Preston Barracks
development on Lewes Road. The project
aims to empower Brighton and Hove’s
entrepreneurs, inventors and product
designers, by giving them around 12 months’
free access to a diverse workspace to develop
and bring their projects to market. The makers
will also unite with like-minded people and
organisations to form a community at FIELD
that thrives on the free exchange of ideas
between creative innovators and inventors.
The chosen businesses moving into FIELD
cover a broad range of business and include
everything from The Bug Boys, a sustainable
food manufacturer innovating the farming of
edible insects, to Play Talk Learn, an education
tech company developing children’s toys that
bring mathematical patterns to life.
Taking the remaining five spots are Intrepid
Camera, producers of handmade, wooden
film cameras that combine traditional craft
and laser cutting; Control Freq, a bespoke
door entry system that users can access
through their mobile; Flux Cycle Works,
who use new techniques like 3D printing to
produce affordable cargo and commuter

bikes; Rogue Saddler, creators of handcrafted,
functional and very cool leather goods; and,
finally, Union Motion, an engineering group
incorporating metal fabrication and 3D printing
to revolutionise the production of electric
motorbikes.
“We’re excited to have secured a place
at FIELD given we’re one of the youngest
organisations in the group. We can’t wait to
move in and get started,” said Dominic, just
one of the many entrepreneurs behind Union
Motion. “It’s going to be a really interesting
working environment, with lots of cross
pollination of ideas with our fellow makers.
We’re hoping to benefit from this collaborative
experience; it’s invaluable.”
The temporary FIELD residencies will help
determine what facilities and support Brighton
and Hove’s entrepreneurial community
needs from a permanent facility and will be
incorporated within the new buildings when
construction begins. The FIELD project is the
first step in the design of The Central Research
Laboratory, a large-scale campus for product
design and technology start-ups, which will be
a permanent facility in the Preston Barracks
development.

James Nettleton, who leads property
regeneration company U+I, works with creative
entrepreneurs and is overseeing FIELD, said:
“It’s been a tough selection process, but we are
delighted to announce the seven successful
applicants who will be calling FIELD their home
for at least the next year. The makers were
selected based on their use of innovation in
their design or manufacturing process, bringing
new approaches to their fields of sustainability,
technology and design.
“These start-ups embody what this project is
all about: innovation and new ways of tackling
challenges. Whether it’s finding solutions to
the global food crisis or finding affordable
manufacturing processes for cargo bikes and
photography equipment, the new companies
were selected as they are all meaningfully
different and utilise innovation for the greater
good.”
FIELD
Preston Barracks
Lewes Road
Brighton
BN2 4GL
www.fieldbtn.com
@FieldBTN

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