News

Lizzy is the inventive director of Made From Scratch, as a member of Bloqs since 2019 the MFS team have gone from strength to strength. We caught up with her to find out a bit more about her and her experience using Bloqs. How would you describe MFS to people that might not have heard of you yet? We create sanctuaries for the imagination. We design and build unique playable l ...

Excitingly Bloqs is featuring in some superb woodworking and industry titles thanks to the folks at Weinig UK, our superstar machine supplier. Articles in Furniture Journal, & Furniture & Joinery Production are joined by writeups on Furniture Production, Woodworking News, and Panel & Joinery Production. Friends like these mean good news Bloqs members. ...

On Saturday 4th December a fully booked group of foraging photographers took to the Tottenham marshes, led by the wonderfully creative artist Kathryn Attrill. Stopping here and there, the lively group thoughtfully snipped and clipped small pieces of nettles, dandelions and water mint. Focusing on sustainability, the group only took what was needed, ensuring the plants were able ...

With the festive season right around the corner please make keep note of what our hours will be at Christmas.  We usually stay open all through the year excluding the bank holidays for Christmas, Boxing & New Year’s Day.  However, this year, all three of those days fall on a weekend so here’s what the opening hours will be over the holidays. Friday 24th  Christmas ...

There’s magic afoot in the BloQs Kitchen! Bringing with her a wealth of new flavours, Marianna Leivaditaki is our new executive chef. If you’ve not already eaten her food you’re in for a real treat as a range of tasty new things appear on our menu. And if you like what you find, you can now book Marianna and the Kitchen Bar for your own event as she is taking bookings for C ...

We’re truly excited to announce a new partnership with Weinig UK & HOLZ-HER UK. Whilst our aim is to bring you more and better machines, the good people at HOLZ-HER want to nurture new talent, teach new businesses using their gear, and benefit from a shiny showroom that demonstrates their machines at their best. To this end we’ve joined forces which means you will soon have ...

If you’ve been keen to visit our new digs over the road, you’re going to love this bit of news! Over four consecutive Thursday evenings beginning 19 August from 5:30 pm, we invite you to come and see your new workshops! We’ll have some beers and take you on a guided walkabout through the new space where you can ask questions, see just how far the build has progressed, and get ...

We recently welcomed students from Edmonton’s Raynham Primary School to BloQs as part of the Canal & River Trust’s Hinterlands Project: a creative project aimed at transforming pockets of waterside in Enfield, Edmonton and Tottenham into well-loved, creative and vibrant community spaces. The visit was facilitated collaboratively by BloQs member and artist Paula Barnard-Grov ...

If you've ever wished you could schedule dedicated time with one of our Tech Managers for general advice, machining tips, help developing a project, or testing out an idea, your wish is our command. We're now offering one to one appointments with our on-site experts for just £65 / hr. Our Techs have huge reserves of knowledge and are keen to advise and guide you through any q ...

Step into BloQs and you’ll immediately be inspired by the vastness of it all. Within this great, buzzing workspace is not only a mixture of colour and sound, of machines and workspaces, but also of people, lived experiences, and dreams. Long-time professional manufacturing business owners ply their trade alongside freelance textile designers, accomplished set builders, and inn ...

As the latest government restrictions are raised, so is our cutlery - tucking in to the happy news that BloQs Café is once again open for seated dining. We're also delighted to welcome back those members of the public who enjoy fuelling up their day with us. The kettle is on and your table is ready. Allowances for social distancing will continue and we'd ask all patrons to che ...

We've lowered our prices on some of the most common sheet material, so you can get it right here at BloQs. Save money with instant access and no faff. Full details and pricing are available on our Shop page. Ask at Reception to make a purchase, and contact the front of house team with questions: info@buildingbloqs.com / 020 8803 3987.Not yet a BloQs member? Check out how BloQs ...

We're now offering easy to access training on all our machinery - analogue and digital alike - to make it easy for you to improve upon your existing skills with focused, practical, one to one sessions on any machine in any department. We've also introduced training on our welding equipment, so if welding is the skill missing from your armoury, now's the time to book. Full deta ...

Whether your machine of choice is our Router, Mill or Laser Cutter, if you're a fan of our CNC department things are really hotting up this spring. Beginning 1 May 2021, we're introducing new discounts on all our CNC machines and lowering the base prices to make it even more affordable for you to kick your business growth into overdrive. The new lower hourly prices are even ...

In light of the Prime Minister's announcements this week, we want to reassure you that BloQs will continue to remain open as an essential business for our members. However, we must now do whatever we can to assist the national efforts to protect one another and to minimise the impact on the severely overstretched NHS. We cannot do this alone.To that end, we'd ask that you wear ...

We are so excited to announce a seventh discipline available at BloQs: 3D printing is here!You'll love our two industrial, high-end 3D printers for all your manufacturing, prototyping, and sampling needs.Our Markforged Mark Two FDM 3D printer uses the company’s proprietary filament, Onyx, with the option of adding reinforcing fibres in Kevlar, Carbon Fibre, Fibreglass or High T ...

Work on our new home is well underway! We've just updated our website with a special section for all the latest images, news and progress reports, so be sure to bookmark buildingbloqs.com/about-bloqs/the-future-of-bloqs/ and keep an eye on our social media channels to stay in the know. You can also check out the latest press from Enfield Council and learn more about the Merid ...

Please make a note of our revised opening hours during the upcoming Festive Season and be sure to plan accordingly! We'll reopen with our regular hours on Monday 4 January 2021.   Thursday24 Dec CLOSING EARLY  8am to 2pm  Friday25 Dec   CLOSED     Saturday26 Dec CLOSED    Sunday27 Dec CLOSED   Monday28 Dec OPEN 8am to 6pm  Tuesday29 D ...

In light of the new guidance and legislation released by the government earlier this week, BloQs will now be implementing some additional measures to ensure that we are caring for our community and abiding by regulations. BloQs Members have been sent an email which explains the measures in detail. If you are a Member and have not received this message, please get in touch. We ...

Building BloQs is delighted to be participating in the 2020 Open House London Festival - throwing open our virtual doors to online visitors from across this great city, to show off our amazing workshop and provide a closer look at some of the creative magic which happens here. Visit our event page for links to videos highlighting all that's on offer at BloQs. You won't want to ...

BloQs is on the move! We're excited to announce that building works on our new site will begin soon. To get things ready, we will be moving our storage containers to the new BloQs site across the road on Wednesday 9 September. The temporary storage location is at the junction of Towpath Road and Anthony Way, and will hold secure access to more storage and parking than ever bef ...

You’re probably very familiar with seeing a few super pimped out workspaces in the BloQs workshops with their own clamp racks, shelves, lighting rigs, cupboards and shadow boards. These spaces belong to Members that have reached the conclusion that getting a space long-term is the way forward. We asked a few of them about what’s good about going long term. “Long term is simply ...

Building BloQs was designed as a not-for-private-profit organisation. This post explains why, how we price our services, and suggests how we can help you manage costs more effectively. BloQs’ mission, the reason it exists, is not to generate large profits, but to provide affordable workspace to you as makers so you can make a living and build self-sustaining businesses. Pursu ...

More than two hundred Open House explorers came to see and make as Building BloQs threw open its doors for the Open House two-day London wide festival. In ones and twos to huge big walking parties from Enfield’s Meridian Water Tour large visitors went of guided walks around London’s largest open access workshops. Lead by a BloQs Team member, tours took in the various department ...

There was excitement and anticipation amongst both Members and Team as the new Boere Sandonomic 1100 KC-EP rocked up at Building BloQs last week. It was hardly off the delivery forklift before eager hands were pulling off the protective film to get a proper look at it. The machine means BloQs Members can save a great deal of time and effort as it can sand timber to exact dimen ...

Open House – Makers, Making & Machines Sat 21st & Sun 22nd : “Workshops In Action” tour - every 60 mins (11am-4pm) BloQs is getting ready to welcome you on what promises to be a day of bustle and activity in our manufacturing workshops. Watch machines at work, see people making, have lunch, get making yourself and learn about how this exciting part of our city is chan ...

The workshop facilities at BloQs are now so much better as a massive influx of new machines joins an array of new workspaces. Metal Working at BloQs just got easy. There’s been metal working at BloQs for a several years but nothing like this. Now there is a comprehensive metal fabrication facility that means many jobs are a walk in the park and many things are possible for the ...

A brand-new department has joined family of facilities in the Building BloQs workshop. From raw analogue power to the digital cutting-edge, Engineering now offers makers a wealth of new opportunities. With its fresh paintwork and bank of well-oiled machines, Engineering marks a step change in what BloQs Members are able to do. The complexity of products that its now possible t ...

MadeAt – BloQs’ fabrication arm – in collaboration with Periscope Architects, has been appointed by Volker Fitzpatrick to design, fabricate and install a cycle shelter for the new Meridian Water Station.Informed by our local industrial legacy, a shipping container was chosen as a ‘shell’. This is the first of many modules planned, hopefully lots top-quality work for members. ...

The workshop is alive with activity right now, there are so many more machines and improvements its truly exciting. Our new Biesse Rover K 4-Axis flatbed CNC machine is probably being winched in as you read this. And you metal workers especially are going to love your new fab shop! ...

We are excited to announce the arrival of First Thursdays at the BloQs Cafe. Each month we will be exhibiting local emerging artists and hosting a Private View of their work in the BloQs Cafe. We'd love to see you on the 3rd of May from 6PM for a launch event to welcome artist Mathilda Oosthuizen. About Mathilda Oosthuizen, First Thursday Bones and breakable, lines are walka ...

In 2012 we were a bunch of soon-to-be-homeless housemates standing in a leaky Enfield shed. We didn't have friends in high places or broadsheet support. We had our skills, a bit of a vision and some very interesting years ahead. Building BloQs started with seven makers, craftsmen and artists. We had several thrifty, happy years cohabiting in a north London live-work space call ...

Window shopping Production company Seven Six approached Made At to manufacture and install a beautiful and complex window display, designed by Sarah Illenberger and commissioned for Selfridges. Providing design support and project management, Made At brought together a multidisciplinary team of skilled makers to work across woodwork, metalwork and textiles departments at Buil ...

Part of the furniture Kent & London is a bespoke designer and maker of handmade furniture and kitchens. It’s a brand that prides itself on producing products that are ‘Well Made in England.’ The company had outgrown their existing workshop and needed a cost-effective way forward. They approached Made At for a solution. Made At offered flexible, competitively priced, Lond ...

Women at Work: Then and Now, Enfield Making History, is a Heritage Lottery Funded project. It is delivered by ACAVA, an educational arts charity and Building BloQs open access workshops with Rachael Nee as artist-in-residence. The project is researching women’s work in industry from conscription in 1916 to the present and reflecting on this for the future. Enfield has a rich ...

In 2013, sculptor and carpenter Sam Kennedy met multi-skilled maker James Gilpin at a shared workshop in London. After becoming friends - and consistently helping one another out on their projects - the two decided it made sense to team up as Commissioned By You. As their business grew and more complex commissions were won, the pair sought a workshop to rent with more space, h ...

Don’t ask an academic to explain how to make a chair, they’ll only write you an essay. No, really - you can download it here We’d like to say a fond farewell and a huge thanks to Liam Grace-Flood, a recent US grad who’s been a fixture at BloQs this summer. Liam’s traveling all over the world this year as a Watson fellow,  exploring how open access workshops make better things ...

I had a wakeup call one day “I thought oh my god I'll be a fisherman for the rest of my life. I had stability and I had money in the bank, but I wanted a complete change.” Furniture designer, shop fitter, prop maker, sculptor - multi-skilled maker Tristan Cochrane came to the game relatively late. A fisherman for ten years, the Scotsman’s strong desire for change is one that ...

Makers are establishing new businesses, diversifying their portfolios and increasing efficiency thanks to simple to use, start of the art laser cutting and engraving technology. From cutting acrylic signage to theatre and event props, adding delicate details to textiles and engraving top of a fine dining tables, laser cutting and engraving means greater efficiency and creativi ...

Building BloQs has, since opening in 2012, become a professional home for seasoned makers, many with heavyweight portfolios and long established client networks. But our open workshop in north London is equally perfect for makers in their early throws. It’s a time of year when a steady flow of students and grads join our ranks, so they can hone skills, continue their education ...

It’s a HOAX. Let’s Reimagine Rubbish. As a theatre and object maker, what really gets me going is reimagining familiar, forgotten and disregarded things.  That's probably why my favourite place in the whole of Building BloQs workshop is the off-cut bin by the wood burner. Among the piles of castaways, my inner scavenger comes out to play. Maybe I just love the idea that a pho ...

A long journey ends, another begins  “I was looking for somewhere I could be. And think. And have the facilities to make a large collection in a short space of time. After looking around, I found Building BloQs.” Zana Agafonva arrived at Building BloQs in spring this year, ahead of her graduate collection fashion show at The Cass. In a short space of time, her awe-inspiring ...

“Making in this city is rich and deep-rooted. We can act as a gateway into understanding the richness that we celebrate” Addressing an audience at this week’s London Real Estate Forum, Al Parra, described the vision that underpins Building BloQs. Addressing City Hall directly, he urged that more support and creative thinking be deployed so organisations like ours can continue ...

Dave Chamberlain is DWC, a small, friendly, neighbourhood carpentry business that runs out of the Building BloQs workshop. Aside from a stint in Iraq serving with the UK army, Dave has - for his regulars and referrals - been north London’s go-to wood worker for 25 years. There's glass half full people and glass half empty people – I'm just happy I've got a glass says Dave. “I ...

In 2016, Hebe George and Zekan Cemal came together. Hebe, a designer, and Zekan, a carpenter, were both working in the creative industries: designing and building sets for shows, events, productions and festivals. Their collaboration morphed into Offset Studios, a design and build company that has a lot going for it. A string of happy clients, a reliable pool of freelance frie ...

Barnaby Reynolds is an award-winning designer with a forensic approach to detail. Not only has his work featured in the likes of Elle and Wallpaper magazines, past clients include Harrods, Arcadia and Vivienne Westwood. Barnaby’s name, his reputation and his designs have become synonymous with intricate, beautiful and enigmatic detail. As the architect Mies van der Rohe said, ...

Hi, my name’s Charlie Ross and I founded an eco textiles company Offset Warehouse six years ago. We source and develop beautiful hand-crafted and ethically produced fabrics from around the world, and sell from one to hundreds of metres at affordable but fair prices. We’re the first company in the UK to sell a broad range of these fabrics exclusively - from hemp, to organic cott ...

With Offset Warehouse coming to Building BloQs on Saturday morning (6th May) to talk about and create with sustainable textiles, we felt compelled to investigate the green credentials of our makers – and of Building BloQs itself. As many know, Building BloQs is scaling up towards the end of this year. We're moving to a space four times bigger on the other side of the canal her ...

‘I thought, well, I’ve got nothing to lose’ Stuart talks blacksmithing in London and his time at the BloQs metal workshop. Some makers arrive at Building BloQs just as their freelance careers lift off. Others come to scratch a creative itch outside of the day job. But bespoke blacksmith Stuart Watson turned up here in 2012 because he was utterly out of options. A relative ve ...

It's a partnership, a journey we go on together Stephanie Porter talks of her bridal design business and the BloQs Textile Studio. More than most maker industries, textiles is defined by its seasonality. In the lead up to spring, the Building BloQs’ London Textile Studio is on fire as designers and makers strive to get their new ranges ready. Wedding dress designer Stephanie ...

A former pro mountain boarder, these days Ollie Morrisonis a little more risk-averse. A recent graduate of London’s Building Crafts College, the Devon-native is slowly and methodically establishing his career as a Designer Maker He's made some sacrifices to get here, so day-by-Pay-As-You-Go day, Ollie is using Building BloQs as a base to explore his craft, hone his skills, an ...

For 40 years Hollywood has churned out films depicting the classic struggle of man and machine. I think we’ve been subtly conditioned to see the rise of machines as something to fear. In the news too, whenever machines edge out a human workforce we get a little nervous about where it’s all headed. But at Building BloQs, we don’t see man and machine, or manual and automated, as ...

‘Your steel bike will outlive you’ I don’t want people to see my bike design as rarified or made with blood and tears, the work of an artisan. I want people putting my bikes to task: taking them on adventures, racing the weekend and not being scared of using it. As a discipline, frame building is on its way back up after a generation of decline. “People moved away from steel ...

“Allow the material to speak as part of the design, a piece is the sum of its parts, so you need to start with the right parts” The last six months have been something of a whirlwind for furniture making duo Knotch Design, one of the youngest businesses working out of BloQs. Established in the summer of 2016, the professional partnership between Noah Kay and Ben Hooper may be ...

“Elegant, playful, happy – for me there are different emotions through the darkness of black.” Garment designer Angelika Chilikova has, in just under two decades, had at least two careers. Her first and original career started alongside her fashion designer mum at Kino, a renowned Greek fashion house, which she would later join as Design Director. At a young age, Angelika fou ...

‘I love it: I got in and couldn't get out’ “Sometimes, if I’m driving round the countryside or walking round town I can say ‘made that’, ‘made that’. It’s a great feeling to know you’ve contributed to the world around you.” Joe Buckingham is The Gentleman Blacksmith. Or vice versa. Skilled in metalwork, design, and woodwork, Joe has 15 years' experience, a mighty portfolio, a ...

Last week we were rather chuffed to welcome the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan for a visit to Building BloQs. The Mayor was in Edmonton to see Meridian Water starting to take shape - Enfield Council’s £6bn regeneration site which will see the delivery of 10,000 new homes and 6,700 jobs. Visiting BloQs, the Mayor was given a tour of the workshop by Al Parra. Meeting members and ...

Renting a professionally equipped fashion studio by the day, week or month helps fashion students and graduates affordably deliver their collections and develop their future careers in the industry. Fashion students and graduates are seeing the benefits of having a textile studio that’s available on a flexible, pay-as-you-go basis in London, instead of relying on cramped unive ...

For London’s freelance metalworkers, open workshops offer an appealing combination of affordable access to professional kit and a network of contacts and opportunities. In a city where workshop space is increasingly limited and expensive, these spaces provide a solution. In his third decade blacksmithing in London, Stuart Watson has seen first hand how the city has changed - “ ...

Renting a professionally equipped textile studio by the day, week or month allows designers to affordably deliver their pieces and collections in line with the seasonality of the industry. More and more designers are seeing the benefits of having a flexibly accessible textile studio in London rather than fork out for the costs of renting and maintaining their own permanent spa ...

Member Juan Junca and Building BloQs have been in residence at the New London Architecture's WRK/LDN exhibition which explores the changing patterns of work in the city. Set up in a window off Tottenham Court Road, Juan has been making a new dining chair design and settee from solid walnut. Read his interview and see him in action on the NLA's blog: Originally published on htt ...

Originally published in Hole&Corner Magazine Making Space: Building BloQs — In the last of our features on London making spaces, we talk about purpose, collaborative values and the power of community with Al Parra – one of the four founders of Building BloQs in Enfield, set to become the largest open access making workshop in Europe…  When and why was Building BloQs s ...

I’ve found the key to Britain’s recovery: an orange shed in Shanktown - Aditya Chakrabortty A return visit to the Building Bloqs initiative – in a suburb best known for stabbings and mini-riots – shows what social enterprises can do with proper support Originally published in The Guardian by Aditya Chakrabortty on 29th March 2016 Journalists are like pigeons: they all floc ...

The big orange shed that holds the key to Britain’s economic recovery Originally published in The Guardian by Aditya Chakrabortty on 6th January 2015, Illustration by Matt Kenyon Social enterprise start-ups like Building Bloqs are exactly what our broken economy needs. But politicians, bankers and investors must play ball. On an industrial estate on the northernmost outski ...