The Creative Fringe

A year ago when my little one was only a few months old and going through a phase of sleeping plentifully (ha! HA! HAHHAHA!), I started researching replicating the work I had been doing in England, in Penrith, Australia where we had just returned to. I quickly came across The Creative Fringe: it was a new co-working space on York Street and I was suddenly hooked, like really head over heels hooked, on this idea of someone providing a modern, flexible and inspiring space for professionals thinking outside of the box who also lived in Penrith. They even did monthly talks on aspects of work that were a little left field. It was so up my alley that I hurriedly followed them on Twitter, Facebook and sent off an email introducing myself. 

Over the months that followed I continued my admiration and updated myself regularly. I found out that it was the brainchild of Debbie O'Connor of White River Design, a graphics company with a similar ethos to mine that a logo should be part of a much much bigger picture. So I followed WRD too.

I then added Instragram to the multiple pages and feeds and occasionally emailed the team about talks coming up. I even accidentally came across a Freecycle request from one of the team for some rugs to kit out a new area of The Fringe and felt even more so like this relationship was just meant to be. 

Then a member of the team, Katrina, launched the Westies a few months ago. It's a blog with the aim of reclaiming the word Westies: it's a showcase of stories and pictures of straight-up, down-to-earth Westies. I followed that too. 

It wasn't until last month, however, that I actually managed to attend one of the talks. Yep, that's right; all this love and yet I hadn't shown my face once.

I had essentially just been breathing heavily down the line via social media. 

But a month ago I finally went to a talk and it confirmed everything I had hoped about Debbie and her team and The Creative Fringe: they have started the ball rolling on something that is going to change the fabric of Penrith. In essence it's as simple as hiring a professional and creative desk space for $40 a day but in practice it's about rethinking our perceptions of where we live: Why is Sydney CBD really so much 'better' than Penrith? There are plenty of professionals with creativity, experience, finances, energy, talent, you name it, with the postcode 2750. They just all travel to the city too. Stoopid, eh?

This month The Creative Fringe will have been operating for a year. In that time, they've already introduced hundreds of like-minded individuals to one another and started a movement to reclaim the West. I'm sure there've been tough times but I see ripples. Well done folks.

PS. In case you've been hiding under a rock recently, they are also hosting the Westies Fringe Market this Saturday 9th May, 8am - 1pm. Here's a link.