Sector spotlight: Paintworks

Behind red brick buildings and glass-panelled doors, some of Bristol’s finest creative and innovative minds work their magic within Paintworks.

The colourful cubes and pointed rooftops of the thriving complex are now a familiar site to all who travel down the Bath Road – and it is an area that is constantly evolving, with the latest phase being completed as we speak.

What started as an ambitious plan to regenerate a long-neglected area is now recognised as a significant contributor to the city’s creative business offering, hosting the likes of the Martin Parr Foundation, acclaimed artist Carol Peace, Tangent Books, Great State digital agency – oh, and Bristol24/7 too – alongside many more.

It’s a fast-expanding site in what was deemed an unfashionable waterside location, but the people who make it what it is are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with and fully behind the pioneering venture.

The Paintworks site in the early days

Originally dating back to 1850, Phoenix Wharf as it was then known, was a paint and varnish factory built by paintmakers Colthurst and Harding that expanded over the years, before being taken over by Coutaulds and eventually falling into decline as manufacturing was centralised elsewhere.

The sprawling premises on the Bath Road changed hands several times as a general trading estate and stood empty for 15 years, before Verve Properties snapped it up in 2003, with a vision for what it could become. Despite some initial suspicion from planning officers, consent was granted and work began in 2004.

Ashley Nicholson of Verve Properties

Describing the ambition behind the site, Ashley Nicholson of Verve Properties says: “I would say it’s a genuine attempt to try and prove mixed use does work and that you can create a community spirit, often though house builders put other priorities ahead of those so don’t try.”

Some of the first ‘live and work’ units in the country were built at Paintworks and work to expand this offering is in full flow, with one end of the site a hive of construction activity.

Verve teamed up with Crest Nicholson to deliver this latest phase of development and the latter is firmly in situ with a shiny office to showcase their wares to prospective buyers.

New phase of development at Paintworks

Construction traffic may be passing through on a daily basis, but a stroll down one street hints at the creatives who already call it home.

A heavy load of music equipment and speakers fill one space, others units are more minimalist and one is bursting with floral displays.

Here, Rachel Husband of The Rose Shed is neck-deep in scented bouquets.

Rachel Husband of The Rose Shed

The florist has been running her own business for six years and moved to Paintworks about two years ago. She hasn’t looked back.

“The main thing that attracted me to Paintworks was the work space,” Rachel explains. “It’s perfect for my business. I probably would not have thought about living here if it wasn’t for the work, but I love it now. Everyone’s really friendly and it feels like a really exciting, new community.”

One of the neighbouring business owners, Lisa Riddoch, has taken full advantage of the creative community at Paintworks and has set up a networking group for people to trade advice and ideas, and offer support.

She lives here with her two young children and runs her affordable interiors business, Mum Does Design, from the unit.

Lisa Riddoch of Mum Does Design

“We lived in Brislington before and I saw that Paintworks was doing a residential development,” says Lisa. “I was thinking of a career change from being a textile teacher to doing interior design, so it was good timing.

“The work, life balance is much easier here. One thing I was definitely missing in the old house was a creative community and I have definitely found that here and it’s been fantastic.

“I started a networking group and, for me, being in my first year, to listen to advice from other people has been really helpful. We are really just pooling all our resources and it’s great.”

SCL (Society for Computers and Law), an educational charity offering training and resources to the technology law sector, is another relative newcomer. The team consists of chief executive Caroline Gould, communications manager Maddie Southorn and finance and membership accounts manager Sarah Forster.

“Some business parks can feel very isolated and depressing as they tend to be based on the outskirts of the city, but Paintworks is different,” says Maddie. “There are great transport links and it’s a great space to work.”

Rob Hankey – Barefoot Architects

Barefoot Architects relocated to Paintworks when the company outgrew its previous premises in Stokes Croft. Co-director Rob Hankey says the creative community is great, but believes more could be made of the shared spaces.

“It’s slightly less connected to other bits of the city being here,” he says. “We shared an office in Stokes Croft so in a way the vibe is similar, there is a sense of community in both locations.

“The benefit of being here is having the open air courtyard space for lunches and like-minded companies so close. The downside is that everyone is busy doing their own thing, so there is slightly less interaction than we expected – we expected more collaboration and chances to get together.”

The small team behind Bristol24/7 has been based at Paintworks since the launch of the community interest company in 2014.

“We love it,” says Managing Director Ben Wright. “It’s nice to be on the river and there’s a good atmosphere of creative activity around the site. There’s lots of interesting, creative businesses here and people always seem to love coming to our office. Also, we’re directly below Bocabar which is a nice bonus.”

The team of talented young chefs who prepared the inaugural Bristol24/7 Autumn Feast

Bristol24/7 hosted its inaugural Autumn Feast in November 2017, a culmination of a series of workshops where young people learnt to cook under the guidance of some of the city’s top chefs.

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Read more: An inspirational evening at the Bristol24/7 Autumn Feast 

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Paintworks Event Space provided the perfect venue for the evening, which was a true community affair, with artwork from Carol Peace, who supported the feast, on display.

Bristol24/7’s sister company Wildfire Comms, a mixed media publishing firm, was one of the earliest inhabitants of Paintworks, moving here from its previous home at the Tobacco Factory on North Street.

Craig Daykin, commercial director of Wildfire, describes the area as “a beautiful and eclectic mix of creative individuals”, adding: “Everyone tends to think outside the box and that is reflected in calibre of businesses here.”

Craig Daykin and Rebecca Paddick of Wildfire Comms

The aforementioned Bocabar opened in 2005, along with the very first Paintworks units.

“From day one it was busy, people couldn’t wait to have a cool eatery and bar, backed by the London developers Verve, right on their doorstep,” says Bocabar co-owner Melissa Eavis, with a second Bocabar in Glastonbury.

“Both the local community and businesses starting to create the Paintworks’ scene and vibe and, to be honest, Bocabar is pretty much the same today as when we started.

Bocabar was one of Paintworks’ first units

“Weekdays, we have on-site businesses coming in for a relaxed meeting over lunch, at weekends we are busy with families, or friends gathering for a social.

“Our main challenge has to be always having something new to offer our customers, whether it’s coming up with new pizza and gin specials, new artefacts and exhibitions, or just changing things around so it’s not stagnant.

“Overall, we absolutely cherish Bocabar and feel so lucky to be part of Paintworks and we’re always so grateful to Verve for inviting us down here in the very beginning – letting us create what Bocabar is today.”

The launch of Convoy Espresso in April this year has been another welcome addition to the Paintworks community and is already the go-to spot for many a business meeting.

Josh Stott in Convoy Espresso

“We’ve been working in one of the office units at Paintworks for a couple of years, and really missed speciality coffee,” explains Josh Stott, co-founder of Convoy Espresso.

“When the Airstream caravans became available, we got excited. Paintworks is unique in both its layout and position. It is a contained area with narrow entrances, and consequently it has a wonderful ‘village’ feel, even though it’s right at the heart of Bristol.

“We have suppliers who are based here, Pedro Creative, a graphic designer based here did our branding, and if you sit down for a coffee you’ll see pieces of work from a couple of the businesses based on-site.

“For us, the development of residential units has been exciting from a business perspective, and also because it increasingly puts Paintworks on the map in Bristol. We’re doing our bit to help Paintworks become an exciting place to visit.”

As Bristol flourishes as a whole, Paintworks is more than holding its own and the colour is showing no signs of fading.

Paintworks sits along the bank of the River Avon

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