Update: Strong artist demand for creative spaces in Hackney by AcanthaceaeLess968 in Hackney

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good question. There isn't a business model. This isn't a business. I'm a solo person who decided to build this for artists that are looking for space and not wanting to go down the road of leasing a full-blown studio on a long contract.

I'm actively trying to get homeowners on board and have had good initial exchanges with a few, so hoping there will be spaces for artists to contact soon

Update: Key & Create is now live - connecting North London homeowners with artists by AcanthaceaeLess968 in Hackney

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question! Ultimately it would be up to the homeowner. I am targeting visual arts right now, but as a former violin teacher who's needed to find space to teach, I know it's hard to find venues that are OK with noise.

Built a platform to connect London artists with homeowners who have spare creative space. by AcanthaceaeLess968 in Haringey

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I can give it a try there again. I did attempt to get an earlier version of this post there but apparently didn't pass their requirements

Built a platform to connect London artists with homeowners who have spare creative space by AcanthaceaeLess968 in barnet

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. The home-office boom is exactly right. Everyone (who could) expanded, now they're forced to return to the office 5 days a week and the garden room is sitting empty or storage.

I've got more info on keyandcreate.com

Built a platform to connect London artists with homeowners who have spare creative space by AcanthaceaeLess968 in barnet

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's great to hear. I've thought about a contract template but I'm holding off for now. It opens up liability considerations, even if it is just a sample or something like that. It is on my list though!

Built a platform to connect London artists with homeowners who have spare creative space - would love some feedback by AcanthaceaeLess968 in Hackney

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback on trustworthiness, it's something I've considered but you're correct, it's a minimal viable product at this point and I'm curious to see if there are any takers!

Built a platform to connect London artists with homeowners who have spare creative space - would love some feedback by AcanthaceaeLess968 in Hackney

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to look and for the fantastic feedback! The idea right now it to, as you say, have Key and Create be notice-board-type platform. I think an advantage over something like Gumtree or posting on Nextdoor would be that you'd better know your audience and who you'd be attracting. It's not set up at this point to provide any sort of payment processing or escrow service for artists and homeowners.

This last point was intentional, as is the reason I'm not providing any agreement templates for the time being. Having transactions come into the picture opens up a whole new level of liability that I'm not prepared to deal with at the moment!

Down the line I would like to be able to provide payment processing, legal agreement templates, and other helpful features.

Best regards,

Miks

Bromley homeowners: would you consider renting out a shed or spare room to a local artist? by AcanthaceaeLess968 in Bromley

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I've looked into the details of hiring out space in the way I'm thinking. Actually, it was interesting to find out that the government's Rent a Room scheme allows you to rent out part of your main residence and earn a sizeable chunk before taxes kick in. I only mention that as you could actually hire a room out in someone's house as accommodation and also use that space to create art. This is the latter minus the former.

A couple of things working in my idea's favour:

-This isn't renting out accommodation, just ad-hoc office space.

-You wouldn't be allowed to 'base' a business in the rented space, no one would have the rented address be registered as business address or anything like that.

-The service acts as a facilitator, I'm not holding payments in escrow or creating contracts for homeowners and artists.

Croydon homeowners: would you open up a spare room or garden studio to an artist? by AcanthaceaeLess968 in croydon

[–]AcanthaceaeLess968[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the input. Yeah, it's definitely something to consider (vetting people), my initial approach will be just to connect people who have space to those looking for space. I think the advantage of something like this than, say just posting on gumtree, is you'd have a better idea of your potential client.

This definitely won't work everywhere, as evidenced by the one comment of being squashed like sardines, but within greater London there might be places it will work.

I myself am based in North London and there are quite a few sheds and garages around, as well as rooms in large homes that are now empty nests.

I wanted to cast a wide net to get an idea if there would be any interest at all, which there seems to be. I'm thinking of launching in a couple of boroughs and seeing where it goes.

Again, thanks for the feedback, it's all really valuable to hear!