As Wakefield’s Tileyard North approaches completion, the team are keen to warmly receive creative businesses, entice talent with TYX, and establish the heart of a fresh and collaborative community.

Since the very inception of Tileyard, a vision of a tightly-knit community where work, networking and socialising are blurred, has been a fundamental aim. “Our focus is on building a community. And, it’s the curation that creates the community.” Nick Keynes explained to us recently, “If someone wants to take up space at Tileyard the most pressing concerns for us are ‘who are you?, what do you do? And what will you bring to our community? That’s far more important than the rent that you’re paying. We want to know what value our tenants can bring beyond paying for the space.”

The type of tenant curation marks the Tileyard team out as being more than just your usual property managers. Actively seeking out the *right* people to make a difference to the personality and inter-connected ethos of Tileyard, is more akin to recruitment than simply space-filling. This attitude is just as intrinsic to the populating of Tileyard North. The first member of Tileyard North’s Community building team, Katie Hopkins, explains to us how her new role is fixed on building relationships with the surrounding creative community, sparking conversations with possible collaborators and residents. “Engaging with creatives in the North and establishing key connections here in Wakefield, I look after our enquiries and get to know the artists, innovators and business leaders that are interested in calling Tileyard North home.” Katie explains, “I support and pitch ideas for campaign delivery, meaning my role spans social media management, design, and copywriting too – being involved in most aspects of communication as we gear up for our opening later this year.”

Beyond the rental of office space, additional elements of Tileyard such as Tileyard Education (explored in depth in our last instalment) and the TYX studio membership offer the means for a far wider range of talented people to get involved in the Tileyard community with the latter providing 24/7 access to the new studio facilities, almost like a gym.

A HOME FOR TALENT

While Tileyard North’s studios are nearing finalisation, down at the original Tileyard site in Kings Cross, a bespoke TYX facility is partly up and running, with several other spaces nearing completion. Many of its seven music production studios being harnessed by its pool of creatives. “We started building [TYX London] at the end of 2020” explains Jack Freegard, TYX’s Managing Director. “We opened around three months ago. Initially building began without any real idea of what it was we were building, until TYX kind of got superimposed into what it has now become.”

Jack tells us that the London TYX spaces serve as a test site – a proof of concept – for a model that will be next rolled out in Wakefield, and beyond… “We’re trying out different ideas, different types of rooms. We’ve got a room which we’re calling ‘the influencer suite’. It’s a content space really. You can do live-streaming, gaming, product demonstrations, interviews or podcasts. It’s a multi-use space. We’ve got a modular, multi-use desk, Black Magic Pro 4K cameras and Aperture lighting, so it’s all fully equipped for 4K live-streaming and recording. It’s all set up in a very easy-to-use way.” Also available are conventional flexi-desks and workspaces.

TYX is intended to be accessible to all, and welcoming to those who aren’t particularly technically minded. “The studios and spaces are as simple as can be. The production studios are set-up so it’s just one USB cable into your computer.” That being said, the studios are still kitted out with some choice gear, spanning Neumann KH310 monitors and TLM 103 microphones, Prism Lyra 2 interfaces, a dense microphone locker full of classic condensers, and a synth trove stocked with the likes of the Moog Grandmother, Arturia’s Polybrute and much more.

The flagship space of TYX’s London complex is undoubtedly the Atmos suite, which will soon be mirrored at Tileyard North. “Tileyard North will have an Atmos room too. In the TYX London Atmos room we’re now doing Atmos referencing for labels and record playbacks. Apple have been coming in here doing playback sessions for TV series and things like that. A lot of the time it’s the people who might be mixing at home using headphones but they’re coming here to get a proper Atmos reference and to finish it off.” Says Jack.

A BIG DRAW

Even more than the original site, the Tileyard North team have gone the extra mile when it comes to establishing a vision of how Wakefield’s new creative hub will embrace businesses. “From a communications perspective, it’s been valuable to develop strategies and material aligning the Tileyard London voice with the personality of Wakefield and the site itself.” Katie tells us. Before revealing that interest in the yet-to-be-completed site is rising daily. “We have had a huge amount of interest in space at Tileyard North, whether that be our creative office spaces or music studios, and we have even been inundated with event enquiries as we look forward to hosting live experiences in our event spaces on site. As we continue to announce more residents joining the community, I can only imagine the pull the hub will have for other businesses, freelancers, artists, and musicians here in the North.” Katie says.

Beyond the offices, workspaces and TYX studios, the draw of bigger industry events will also be pivotal. “We’ll be doing large scale concerts, award shows, food courts and things like that.” Jack Freegard explains. “We don’t want Wakefield to think that this is a London company that has come up to the North and is imposing itself on the community, we want to embrace the community. It needs to be owned by the community and that’s very much ingrained into our hiring policy. Further community managers will be from within that community, managing the growth of our creative spark that already exists in the north of England.”

This is confirmed by Katie. As first of the locally-recruited community managers, she has already been heavily invested in Wakefield’s creative scene for years. She tell us of the strength of the city’s talent, and how their already-collaborative spirit will slot in well with Tileyard North; “We realise that there really is a force here in Wakefield for music and the arts, and a passion and love of support for one another. We hope Tileyard North will bring these like-minded people together, inspiring meaningful conversations and creating cross-industry connections with our residents. Of course, we’re aiming to facilitate collaboration between our residents at Tileyard London and the future residents at Tileyard North, closing the gap between the North and the South.”

A NEW DAWN

While the Rutland Mills site itself is still requiring some further development before it can open completely, the day that Tileyard North’s phased opening can get underway is drawing closer. With all eyes on the first Education cohort beginning their studies in late 2023, prior to that, a series of events and previews will undoubtedly pique the interest of the northern creative sector. “Connections are hugely important. When you’re approximated together you get happy accidents.” said Nick Keynes, “[At Tileyard] you’re constantly bumping into people everyday and you can ask them what they do – forging connections that will likely come in useful. They’re beyond meaningful. What Tileyard is fundamentally about is talent incubation and we want to create an environment where talent can thrive.”

We’ll re-visit Tileyard North once the site gets up and running, but for now, we suspect that, this creative hub, built on the interconnected ideas and enterprise of businesses, students, artists and producers will give the North’s talent a space to grow.

READ MORE

Inside Tileyard North: Part One –Waking the Mill

Inside Tileyard North: Part Two – The Education Eco-System