Think Future Now

BIG Green Week has grown into a HUGE event – the week now lasts 9 days with over 100 different activities – including our very own Good Green Fun

It’s FREE, it starts at 6pm on Thursday June 14th – in Waterside 3 at Watershed, and it’s a different take on sustainability and entertainment – with comedy, music, bicycles, festivals and commercials. We have visuals and insights from Aardman and BBC Drama – comedy from Instant Wit and  inspiration from Yoke, Julie’s Bicycle and the Shambala festival

We’ll park the issues around cultural change – it can be done – it can be fun, with a stunning visual playlist of great music, drama and comedy, and the story of how it’s done

If there’s not something in this event to make you laugh – or something you can try out in your production – then we’ve really missed the point!

Book your tickets via eventbrite here

The Watershed, Bristol 6.00 – 7.45pm

Roll up, roll up for the greenest show in town. As part of Bristol’s Big Green Week,Think Future Now will be joined by Julie’s Bicycle and Chris Johnson (Shambala Festival, Green Festival Alliance) to discuss what it means to entertain and to be green. Other live and virtual guests from theatre, music, comedy and film will inspire and amuse, as we showcase how arts and creative businesses can deliver entertainment with minimal environmental impact and maximum fun.

Think Future Now works with Bristol’s creative businesses; Julie’s Bicycle works with music, theatre and creative industries nationally. Both are working to make sustainability intrinsic to the creative/ arts industries.

EVERYONE WELCOME.

EVENT FREE BUT PLEASE BOOK AT EVENT BRITE

As consumers we’re increasingly embracing renting, swapping, bartering and sharing services. Whether it’s signing up to a bike or car share scheme, skill sharing, recycling or enjoying the thrill of staying in a stranger’s (spare) bedroom with AirBnB or couchsurfing, we’re realising the sustainability benefits of this new era of ‘collaborative consumption’, cutting out the middle- man and enjoying the fun that can be had through making new friends on the way.

So, what does this have to do with your creative business? Well, plenty, really. As this trend towards lending, sharing and swapping continues apace (and expands from peer-to-peer to business-to-business exchange) , it’s probably time to think about how your company can get on board. Joining a car-share club, such as Zipcar (with a base in Bristol) can save money and greenhouse emissions. Freegle can help you cut waste through recycling office furniture and equipment. Working in a shared office space or hub such as Hamilton House is a great way of sharing facilities and costs, and websites like Eyefish  are enabling creatives to share specialist expertise and equipment. Or why not give staff the option of staying in an AirBnB property instead of a soulless hotel?

Collaborative consumption is changing our personal lives, but there’s no reason why businesses can’t get in on the fun; making new contacts and cutting carbon at the same time.

Graphic courtesy of Specialist Stock. Zoonar_1746638 /Zoonar.com/Kristina Afansyeva/zoonar.de

Ken Garland’s First Things First manifesto was written almost 50 years ago, in 1963. Lashing out at the trivial and bombastic practices of mainstream advertising and 1960s Britain, it calls on designers and other creatives to use their skills for the greater good.

In 2000 it was revisited and republished as the First Things First manifesto 2000. We’ve stuck to the original 1963 version here- we love the references to stomach powders and striped toothpaste- but also to remind us that the same battle is still being fought 50 years on. Continue reading…