We’re currently putting some plans together for the future of Umbro Industries, our scheme which provides support and funding for some of the best creative ideas from around Greater Manchester, but in the meantime we thought it was a great time to let you know about some of the great things that our previous winners have been up to…

One of the most recent Umbro Industries winners, rappers Broke N £nglish have been hard at work investing their winnings into a studio where they can offer recording facilities to local bands whilst also recording their own tracks. The first results of their new Salford studio can be heard on the excellently titled ‘Pre-Season Training‘, put together by Strats from Broke N £nglish over the summer. You can download it for free, and also check out the boys in action in videos like these:

Also now based in Salford is Upper Space, a collective of street art enthusiasts with a conscience. They’ve spent some time finding the best projects for their attention, but they’re now ready to launch a new website and a city-wide street art exhibition exploring homelessness. Based in Salford’s Islington Mill, Upper Space are hosting a launch party with music from fellow Umbro Industries winners Mind On Fire, plus the chance to see more examples of their artwork like the example pictured above. For more details click here.

Held at our Dale Street design studio, the latest Umbro Industries final was a close fought affair, with two entries ending up as winners of the £10,000 prize to spend on their creative ideas. Artistic record label Baptists & Bootleggers were an Umbro Industries first, as they walked away with MORE money than they requested. The panel liked their idea so much that they doubled the amount requested and awarded a £3,500 prize. The remaining £6,500 was handed over to rappers and producers Broke N English, who want to provide a ‘football academy’ style service for budding local musicians.

We spoke to both winners on the day about their ideas and what they plan to spend their money on….

Baptists & Bootleggers

Can you explain what Baptists & Bootleggers is all about?
‘Basically it’s a non-profit label that will be releasing art, music and literature, but we’re going to be releasing it by distributing it to the artists themselves. It will enable the artist to distribute by hand, so the idea is that it then gets passed on in different cities, they can take them into record shops and ask if they can leave it on the counters, that kind of thing.

Also, another main point is that all the packaging is going to be handmade, so it’s all going to be hopefully a lot more exciting than a CD jewel case, or just a plain record sleeve. The packaging will be hand drawn and contain artwork and literature, posters and things.’

What will the money be spent on?
‘We’ve applied for the money mainly to fund production of the first release. We want a big first release for the label, to make people realise that they know everything’s free and it’s good, not free because it’s cheap. So the funding would help us produce a great record that we want to put out on vinyl as well as CD, so we’re looking to produce 500 vinyl records and 1000 CDs.

As well as the production of the first release the money would go towards promoting the label and the launch of the release and a small amount of it would go towards organising a launch event for the first release on the label.’

Are the artists on the label just Manchester based or are they worldwide?

‘They are mostly Manchester based at the moment but we also have one in Berlin, a sound artist who’s producing tracks, but we are hoping to spread out further. If the community grows it will.’

So the first release is going to be a compilation?
‘It is yeah. Rather than just a standard compilation for the first release, we decided to put a twist on it. So we found an 8 minute clip from a 1930s movie which we found really interesting. Originally the idea came from adding a soundtrack ourselves. Then we thought “what would it sound like if other people had the same 8 minute clip”. We got everyone’s opinion on what the soundtrack should be, so we’ve asked 6 bands to create their own. It’s exciting to hear what the different kind of styles from each band has come up with producing the soundtrack.’

Broke N English

Can you sum up what your proposal to Umbro Industries is all about?
‘First and foremost we’re musicians from Manchester trying to make an indentation in this difficult industry. But secondly were trying to set up something in Manchester that will be helpful for up and coming musicians on the scene. The best way to explain our proposal is that we’re trying to make a musical version of a football youth academy so people can come in, get the right training and work their way up to the first team at some point.’

So what would you be spending the money on?
‘We have all the equipment we need, but we need a recording space for all the young people to come into. We’re also looking to put some money into our label, which would help to build up the scene and give us a better all round organisation.’

Is this something that you think is missing here in Manchester?
‘Definitely, it’s a social thing as well. Kids do have more resources than they did in the past, with workshops and things like that. But those who have decided that they want to be a musician and follow that path as a career, there’s not that many opportunities out there. So we just want to provide that and do it in a positive way, so it’s not just the same old clichés.

Both football and music have a lot of money in there at the top, but at grassroots level, there’s still a lot of fun to be had, and we want to promote that as well, not make it too serious.’

Congratulations to both winners, and thanks to all our finalists who came along on the day. For more information on the Umbro Industries scheme, check out the site.

We’ve had another great round of entries for the Umbro Industries scheme, and our team have spent the past couple of weeks whittling down all the ideas to a final four, who will then present to our panel of experts next Tuesday, May 17th. The four ideas that are going for the £10,000 funding prize are…

Baptists And Bootleggers

A artistically-minded record label with a difference, Baptists And Bootleggers want to give away their music for free. They want to fund a series of records in crafted packaging that will be given to everyone involved to hand out as they wish.

Lost And Found Festival

A week long festival taking place in June, Lost And Found combines theatre, music and performance for an exciting series of events all over the city. They’re looking to Umbro Industries to help expand their horizons and make the event bigger and better than ever.

Broke N £nglish

An established music act in Manchester, Broke N £nglish are looking to the Umbro Industries scheme to help expand their horizons and build on some great ideas they’ve had around a studio in the city, their own record label and their club night, Ballin’ On A Budget.

Chris Connelly

A local writer and graphic artist, Chris is working on a book chronicling the history of Rochdale’s Cargo Studios, an influential venue for many different musical genres in the 1970s and 1980s. If he’s successful, Chris will spend the Umbro Industries funding on the book which will be designed to look like the tape boxes used in the studio.

They’re the ideas that will be presenting to our panel of experts next week, and they could walk away with £10,000 to help realise their ideas at the end of the day. If you want to learn more about the Umbro Industries scheme, head over to the website or follow us on Twitter.

Have you heard about Umbro Industries, but not exactly sure what you could do with the money? Here’s what two of our previous winners have been doing since they won a slice of cash to get their ideas in gear…

Bangers & Fash

Student gang Bangers & Fash won £3,000 in November’s Umbro Industries, to go towards a special club night/fashion show/village fete that they were wanting to host. Last month, their ideas sprang into life at The Deaf Institute in Manchester, where they took over all three floors of the venue for the evening, with DJs, bands, a catwalk show and some games such as Bat The Rat and a tombola! As you can see in the photos here, expertly shot by Daniel Glaze, the night was a big success, with The Deaf Institute packed to the rafters.

With the success of the evening, Bangers & Fash are now looking to host more events in and around Manchester, while they continue to host events in Nottingham as well. Here’s a video they shot which captures some of the excitement of the evening:

BANGERS & FASH: MCR from Newspeak Productions on Vimeo.

Mike Garry

Well known around Manchester for his innovative approach to poetry, Mike Garry won £7,000 from Umbro Industries in November. Mike is using the money to create a book of poetry all about football, which will all be written by young people from in and around Manchester. Mike is currently staging workshops around the city with children from all backgrounds, using football as a way to get them interested in poetry and reading.

I recently travelled to Longsight Library to see Mike in action, and the response he got from the small group pictured with him here was fantastic. Speaking to the young lads, they mentioned that they previously thought that poetry was boring, but Mike’s enthusiasm and his way with words had got them interested. The ideas that they’d come up with after just five weeks of workshops were really impressive, and we can’t wait to see the end product!

That’s just two of the ideas that have come to light thanks to Umbro Industries – we’ve also funded plenty of other ideas that are building up towards some exciting events around Manchester. If you think you’ve got a great idea, but need some cash to get it kicked off, you can submit it to Umbro Industries now – get them down before the deadline of April 22nd!

We often talk about the ideas that Umbro Industries is funding here on our blog, so we’re excited to point you in the direction of an event that’s taking place here in Manchester tomorrow night. Industries winners Bangers & Fash (pictured above) are hosting a party/fashion show/village fete at The Deaf Institute in Manchester, tomorrow evening – there’s a load of DJs, live bands, a catwalk show and plenty of young designs showcasing their latest work which can be purchased on the night. For the full lowdown on the line-up, take a look here.

For more information on the Umbro Industries scheme, which offers £10,000 to creative ideas in Greater Manchester, check out the site.

Yesterday we announced the results of the Winter Umbro Industries, with cultural listings website Manchester Wire and the University Of Salford’s BA Hons Fashion department sharing the £10,000 prize. But what are they going to spend it on? We spoke to both winners to find out…

Sally Donaldson, University of Salford

How does it feel to have won?
‘It’s been great to come back to the University and speak to people who knew that we were entering, and to tell them that we’ve won. We can keep on celebrating! We didn’t dare think that we could win, so it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Just the fact that a project, which could have such a big effect on the people involved, will now go ahead because of this is brilliant. We made the announcement to the students this morning, and they are absolutely overjoyed, and that’s what it’s all about. We’re creating something very special for them.’

How do you feel your presentation went on Sunday?
‘I think its odd because we felt it’d gone really well when we first came out, and then when we reflected on it we weren’t so sure! We felt that we answered all the questions and presented it all well, and felt that the panel responded well, but we were aware that there were three other groups there that were equally as passionate about their ideas.’

What can you tell us about your project?
‘We’re going to produce a really amazing digital film of a fashion show, but it won’t be like any other fashion film you’ll have seen before. It’s a film in a certain environment that you can become immersed in and experience like a live show. We’re hoping to have the event around the middle of June, so in the meantime we’ve got a lot of work to do!’

Ruth Allen and Chris Horkan, Manchester Wire

How does it feel to have won?
Ruth: ‘We’re very excited about the fact that we’ve got £3,000, definitely! We weren’t sure how receptive the panel were going to be, because it’s not necessarily a new idea, but I think we’ve tried to make it relevant to 2011, so it’s really exciting that the judges were responsive to that.’

How do you feel your presentation went?
Chris: ‘It went about as well as could be expected, I think the panel were quite knowledgeable about what we’re planning to do, so they had plenty of questions, but I think we answered them quite well.’
Ruth: ‘We were quite nervous but we practiced quite a lot beforehand! Because we were so into our idea, we were able to give it plenty of support and answer any questions, so afterwards we felt that we couldn’t have given a better presentation to be honest.’

What’s your idea all about?
Chris: ‘It’s basically if you live in Manchester or you’re coming into Manchester on a given day or night and you’re not sure what to do, it’ll offer you suggestions that you’d maybe not thought about before. It gives people more ideas on what to do, especially underground stuff that’s not getting much coverage elsewhere in Manchester. It’s something that’s missing in Manchester at the moment.’

What will the £3,000 allow you to do?
Chris: ‘It’ll help us in terms of going to other people and getting their attention, and I think it can get the website designed and built, and fund the first few months of the site going live. It’s really kickstarted the idea. We could potentially be up and running in a couple of months.’

What do you think of Umbro Industries in general?
Chris: ‘It’s good that you can put up any idea, no matter how hair-brained, and the good stuff gets through. There’s fewer and fewer funding opportunities available, so it’s a great thing to have here in Manchester that other places don’t really have.’

Congratulations again to both our winners. If you think you’ve got an idea that could do with some help from Umbro Industries, head over to the website now to find out more and upload your ideas.

Another Umbro Industries, and another £10,000 given away to top ideas here in Manchester! Yesterday, we held the final for the Winter Umbro Industries at our Dale Street studio, with four bright ideas being presented to our panel of experts. After the presentations, and plenty of deliberation, two winners were chosen: Manchester Wire and the University Of Salford’s BA Fashion course.

Manchester Wire (pictured above) have been awarded £3,000 to help them set up an online listings magazine for Manchester. The team will use the cash to fund a website giving the lowdown on what’s on in the city, with previews of the best attractions.

Our second winners were the team behind the University Of Salford’s BA Hons Fashion course. The team have been awarded £7,000 which they’ll be putting towards an extra special catwalk show for their students. Utilising digital technology and innovative visual techniques, the team will create a special show which will bring their student’s creations to life.

Congratulations to both our winners, and thanks to everyone who applied for the latest round of Umbro Industries. We’ll have interviews with both our winners soon…

The latest round of Umbro Industries has been our most popular so far, so we had plenty of ideas to sort through before selecting our favourites. Now, after our panel of local industry experts have sorted through all the entries, we can reveal who’ll be going forward to Sunday’s final and the chance to secure up to £10,000 in funding for their creative idea.

Here’s the four ideas that received the most votes from our judges, and will be presented to them this weekend…

Manchester Wire

Using strong contacts from a wide variety of creative circles, the people behind Manchester Wire are aiming to establish an online cultural listings magazine. As they say themselves: “We want to highlight the good, the bold and the brave; the best new restaurants, the unmissable show, the hot live gig, the DJ in town for the first time, the places to go for a first date and where to kiss and make up. Don’t you want to know what’s going on outside?”

Kinofilm

An established short film festival, Kinofilm are looking to redevelop their website to coincide with their event in 2012. With the funding, they’d aim to buy new equipment, stream films online and offer a broader experience for their events.

Vox Box

A community project with a difference, Vox Box aims to provide top of the range sound and recording facilities for local Manchester groups in a portable shipping container. Staffed by professionals offering advice and assistance, the Vox Box would give amateur musicians and established groups the opportunity record wherever they like.

BA Hons. Fashion, University Of Salford

Aiming to bring digital technology together with the world of fashion, the students at the University Of Salford are hoping to stage a special catwalk show. Immersing the audience in the experience, the students are looking for funding to provide the equipment and experts to bring their designs to life.

So that’s who’s looking to win with Umbro Industries this weekend, we’ll have all the news on who has been successful as soon as it’s announced.

A lot of us will be making new year’s resolutions, and if one of yours is to get a great idea off the ground, then Umbro Industries could be the thing for you. Designed to help people who live or work in Greater Manchester, Umbro Industries offers £10,000 in funding for the best creative ideas in the region, providing the spark that even the best people need.

So far, Umbro Industries has provided over £50,000 in funding for a massive range of ideas in and around our home city. We’ve helped fledgling record labels, provocative theatre shows, street art galleries, rocksteady tea parties and plenty more, so if you think your idea might not fit in with what we’re doing, think again! Every three months we host another round of Umbro Industries, and we’re closing in on the deadline date for the Winter round.

All you have to do to get a chance of grabbing all or part of that £10k is to submit your idea to the Umbro Industries website. You’ve got until Friday February 4th to submit your answer before we select our finalists! Head to the website now for more details and to submit your idea…

Yesterday we revealed the latest winners of our Umbro Industries scheme, and told you a little bit about what they’re going to do with their money. Today, we’ve got a quick interview with both winners, in which they give us more details on what they plan to do with the funding they’ve won…

Bangers And Fash

What exactly is Bangers And Fash?

“It’s a big creative party that we’re currently hosting in Nottingham, that includes fashion, photography and live illustration as well as music. Some of us are students here in Manchester, and we want to bring what we’ve done in Nottingham to the city and make it bigger and better. We think it’ll be ideal for Manchester, and this opportunity that Umbro are offering encouraged us to put our plans together and really go for it here.”

What will you be spending the £3,000 on?

“Specifically, we’ve got a large amount of the budget set aside for the acts that would be performing. We’re hoping to get some of the best new bands from here in Manchester, plus a top DJ from some of Manchester’s existing top nights. We’d also like to get a big headline act involved. We’ve also got some budget set aside for materials for screen-printing t-shirts, promotion, security, all that sort of thing.”

Is Bangers And Fash going to be a one-off event, or do you want to do more?

“So far, in Nottingham we’ve done five, and we’re hoping to do them here around every quarter, and we’d love to expand it towards other areas as well. Having it here in Manchester, we think that if it works here then it’ll work anywhere, and it really feels like we’d be taking it to the next level.”

How did you hear about Umbro Industries?

“We heard about it through university, we saw a poster in our department, I think we might have stolen one actually! Then we just thought that it was a great idea, and doing something here in Manchester was something we’d talked about for a long time, so it all came together nicely.”

Mike Garry

Why did you decide to apply for Umbro Industries?

“I decided to apply because I felt that there’s been a real decline amongst young men reading in Manchester, and throughout the UK generally. I believe that reading plays a massive role in our development – every person on the panel here at Umbro Industries will be a big reader. The levels of reading here in Manchester are so bad amongst young people, and the literature that they’re given as part of the national curriculum isn’t interesting to them.
I’m looking to get into schools and get young men reading and writing poetry, based around football. They think that poetry and reading is boring, but it’s not boring, what they’re reading is boring. I believe that if I give them the right materials and give them something decent to read, it’ll motivate them to want to read more and to discover their own skills in reading and writing.”

What will your £7,000 be spent on?

“The majority of the money will go on the product itself, the actual book, and also on working with a designer to make sure it looks great. I’ve got a track record of creating things like this, so I’ll make sure the finished product is something that’s beautiful and that you want to hold in your hands. So most of the cash will go on the design and distribution of the book, while the rest will go on workshops with young people and that side of things.

Is football a good subject for poetry?

“I find it incredibly difficult to write poems about football, because my opening line always begins ‘this means nothing, this means everything.’ It’s that essential thing about football that’s so difficult to capture. But there’s something about this thing that has us jumping up and down and screaming like kids, when it’s just a round leather thing and 22 galloots dancing around, that I think can stimulate passions in us. Even the most rational and sensible people, for ninety minutes nothing else matters. So if I can tap into that, get young people talking about it and their passion, we can create something really wonderful.

What originally got you interested in reading?

” ‘A Kestrel For A Knave was the first, and also a little known book called ‘A Pair Of Jesus Boot’s by a Scouse writer whose name I can’t remember. The poems of Spike Milligan, the lyrics of David Bowie, all these things just got me hooked. Even though I’m 46 and I’ll be working with 14, 15 year old kids, I understand what the appropriate things will be to get them interested.”

Do you think that Umbro Industries is a good project for creative people in Manchester?

“Yeah, it’s a great thing for people in Manchester, and it’s a great thing for Umbro as well. It gets people interested in what you’re doing who might not normally be interested. And to have a project like this for the arts in the current climate can only be a very good thing.”

Will your project be based in specific areas of Manchester?

“It’ll be specifically areas of Manchester where people aren’t motivated to read. The tougher schools and the tougher kids within those schools. It’ll be the kids who think poetry is just for girls, we’ll be showing them that it’s not.”

Thanks to both Mike Garry and the Bangers And Fash team for taking the time to speak to us, and congratulations once again to both of them for their success. If you want to find out more about Umbro Industries or apply for funding, head over to the website – www.umbroindustries.com