It has been awhile since my last post and I can safely say that in some respects, I am no firther than I was at the time of the last post, yet, I have taken the project a whole lot further.
I had been working on the Prince's Trust funding, but just before submitting the papework, I had a gut feeling that I shouldn't be doing this, call it what you like, but, it wasn't wind, and well, I generally go with my gut!
Doing this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I have now started working in a studio in Greenwich, a studio run by a not-for-profit. The pay is bad, but it is such an excellent opportunity, not only for me, but for Blind Sided. You see, we now have a base of operations!
More to come on that. The reason fo this post is that I am looking for a Joomla Developer, more importantly, a VOLUNTEER Joomla developer!
I have registered the Blindsided domain and have decided to run it using Joomla, the world of opensource it so much nicer to you when funding is minimal. However, the time it will take me to learn and then develop the site will take me away from things I am trying to organise.
Therefore, if you ae a competent Joomla Developer, or know of one and you or they ae willing to do a site for a not-for-profit and do a skills swap, rather than a monetry swap, then I would be one very happy partially sighted person!
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
How Blind Sided Came to be....
8 months ago I lost the sight in my left eye after a serious assault on my way to work. I had just turned 30, I was doing well in my job and career and my freelance photography was growing in leaps and bounds.
In a heartbeat, the entire course of my life and what I had mapped out as my future changed. I couldn’t see any future let alone a future in photography. I started scouring the internet looking for groups, associations, anyone, that could help me make sense of this new way of life and in getting back into photography. I found a group here or there online, I even found a photographic club for visually impaired and blind photographers. I am still waiting for them to send me the application form to join.
The little information I have been able to gather has been from fellow photographers, both professional and amateur/hobbyist. These are mostly small groups where there is little or no interaction, where people share the “hacks” they have figured out to assist them in viewing the screens on their camera’s and when getting them onto the pc. I have also came across a great deal of negativity from fully sighted photographers and non photographers when mentioning blind or visually impaired photographers. “They are blind, how can they even see where to focus the camera?” was amongst some of the comments.
It was a huge frustration to me, I had intended to make photography my career and needed practical advice, somewhere I could go to learn, to overcome my new barriers, to take my vision, my talent and skill and relearn it with less sight and a different perception.
In February of this year, I was made redundant from my position as Property Manager for a large organisation a day after laying a grievance for Disability Discrimination (Amongst other. issues) This grievance was not made harshly or maliciously, I had been requesting a larger monitor for 4 months and they had just employed someone in my position without my knowledge as I was considered a liability if I were to go on site. This threw me back into the job market. I have learnt that no matter how much equality is encouraged there is still great hesitancy and unwillingness to employ people who don’t fall into what is categorised as “mainstream” employment. This led to further research on my part. I came across some startling figures relating to Visually Impaired and Blind Photographers. It is estimated that there are currently about 2 million visually impaired and blind people in the UK. It is also estimated that 66% of registered visually impaired or blind persons of working age are unemployed. That is only those that are registered, within the classification. There are untold numbers, like myself, who are not registered.
As I have mentioned, before I lost the sight in my eye, I wanted to make photography my career. I was making plans to open my own studio, working this in conjunction with my ‘day job’. I started getting all the equipment I would need together, started looking into live/work premises. I am now even more determined to follow this through, but with a new aspect added. I want to be able to do this for myself, but I also want to be able to assist others in developing their skills, taking on responsibility and earn a living. To introduce others to photography that previously thought it was beyond their reach.
In addition to livelihood, Blind Sided aims to promote a ladder of educational and employment opportunities through courses, workshops and seminars. We hope to work in collaboration with a number of community and arts organisations to help people access arts training and gain skills for the workplace.
The clock has started ticking on getting Blind Sided Studio & Gallery open.In a heartbeat, the entire course of my life and what I had mapped out as my future changed. I couldn’t see any future let alone a future in photography. I started scouring the internet looking for groups, associations, anyone, that could help me make sense of this new way of life and in getting back into photography. I found a group here or there online, I even found a photographic club for visually impaired and blind photographers. I am still waiting for them to send me the application form to join.
The little information I have been able to gather has been from fellow photographers, both professional and amateur/hobbyist. These are mostly small groups where there is little or no interaction, where people share the “hacks” they have figured out to assist them in viewing the screens on their camera’s and when getting them onto the pc. I have also came across a great deal of negativity from fully sighted photographers and non photographers when mentioning blind or visually impaired photographers. “They are blind, how can they even see where to focus the camera?” was amongst some of the comments.
It was a huge frustration to me, I had intended to make photography my career and needed practical advice, somewhere I could go to learn, to overcome my new barriers, to take my vision, my talent and skill and relearn it with less sight and a different perception.
In February of this year, I was made redundant from my position as Property Manager for a large organisation a day after laying a grievance for Disability Discrimination (Amongst other. issues) This grievance was not made harshly or maliciously, I had been requesting a larger monitor for 4 months and they had just employed someone in my position without my knowledge as I was considered a liability if I were to go on site. This threw me back into the job market. I have learnt that no matter how much equality is encouraged there is still great hesitancy and unwillingness to employ people who don’t fall into what is categorised as “mainstream” employment. This led to further research on my part. I came across some startling figures relating to Visually Impaired and Blind Photographers. It is estimated that there are currently about 2 million visually impaired and blind people in the UK. It is also estimated that 66% of registered visually impaired or blind persons of working age are unemployed. That is only those that are registered, within the classification. There are untold numbers, like myself, who are not registered.
As I have mentioned, before I lost the sight in my eye, I wanted to make photography my career. I was making plans to open my own studio, working this in conjunction with my ‘day job’. I started getting all the equipment I would need together, started looking into live/work premises. I am now even more determined to follow this through, but with a new aspect added. I want to be able to do this for myself, but I also want to be able to assist others in developing their skills, taking on responsibility and earn a living. To introduce others to photography that previously thought it was beyond their reach.
In addition to livelihood, Blind Sided aims to promote a ladder of educational and employment opportunities through courses, workshops and seminars. We hope to work in collaboration with a number of community and arts organisations to help people access arts training and gain skills for the workplace.
If you have experience in NGO's, Social Enterprise, getting grants, marketing etc. or would like to assist in any other way, please drop an email.
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Prince's Trust Meeting
The next Prince's Trust meeting will take place on the 8th of July.
In this meeting I will be submitting the completed version of the business plan and the rest. My business exec Hayley and I are pushing to get this completed as I am nearing the cut-off for age! IT is going to be tight, but I am confident we can do it!
A little more on the Prince's Trust.
When I got back from my trip to South Africa in May, I started applying for jobs and to this day have only received 1 response back from about 19 online applications and a day or walking Brighton flat. At the time it seemed like a disaster, it made my despondency even worse than it really was. 30, one eye, no job and not much else.
I was surfing the net looking at grant options for Blind Sided when I remembered being told about the Prince's Trust, so I jumped onto their site, did some looking, I had to be younger than 31, unemployed and have a solid business idea. I emailed them, I got an email back and 2 weeks later I was at an introdutory meeting with them, a week after I was at my first meeting, and next week is the 3rd!
In London they don't offer grants only low interest loans, which is a bit of a bummer, but on the face of things, the best on offer when you look at it in the bigger scheme of things, are the services that go with it.
If after you have gone to panel and you are accepted, you get the low interest loan, you get a business mentor, who you have to see at least once a month. They try and find the best person for you. They also offer a wide range of other services, free, like legal, financial etc.
All of this does mean that I will have to match the same amount of money that they will loan me (anything from £1,500 - £4,000), hence the huge fund raising drive at the moment. Not only do I have to pay for the registration and all of that, but I need to match funding. This will happen, somehow!
More news on The Prince's Trust as it happens
In this meeting I will be submitting the completed version of the business plan and the rest. My business exec Hayley and I are pushing to get this completed as I am nearing the cut-off for age! IT is going to be tight, but I am confident we can do it!
A little more on the Prince's Trust.
When I got back from my trip to South Africa in May, I started applying for jobs and to this day have only received 1 response back from about 19 online applications and a day or walking Brighton flat. At the time it seemed like a disaster, it made my despondency even worse than it really was. 30, one eye, no job and not much else.
I was surfing the net looking at grant options for Blind Sided when I remembered being told about the Prince's Trust, so I jumped onto their site, did some looking, I had to be younger than 31, unemployed and have a solid business idea. I emailed them, I got an email back and 2 weeks later I was at an introdutory meeting with them, a week after I was at my first meeting, and next week is the 3rd!
In London they don't offer grants only low interest loans, which is a bit of a bummer, but on the face of things, the best on offer when you look at it in the bigger scheme of things, are the services that go with it.
If after you have gone to panel and you are accepted, you get the low interest loan, you get a business mentor, who you have to see at least once a month. They try and find the best person for you. They also offer a wide range of other services, free, like legal, financial etc.
All of this does mean that I will have to match the same amount of money that they will loan me (anything from £1,500 - £4,000), hence the huge fund raising drive at the moment. Not only do I have to pay for the registration and all of that, but I need to match funding. This will happen, somehow!
More news on The Prince's Trust as it happens
The new Blind Sided Studio & Gallery Blog
The blog to keep up to date on all the happenings of Blind Sided Studio and Gallery
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