The Greenhouse is a creative co-working space for freelance designers, developers, photographers and academics. Located in the heart of Meanwood in the north of Leeds, we offer locals an affordable and flexible place to work.
For many freelancers, working from home can be very isolating. Working in cafes and coffee shops can be fine for a while, but many people don't see it as a viable long-term solution. So we set out to create a workspace where people would feel immediately comfortable; one that didn’t feel like a traditional corporate office. We wanted The Greenhouse to be somewhere that offered freelancers and remote workers the chance to meet like-minded people and gain a clear sense of belonging.
We also wanted to make sure the workspace could function as a venue - somewhere with workshops, classes and events for the wider community to enjoy. Nestled behind Alfred bar and The Hungry Bear restaurant, we’re next door to The Meanwood Brewery. We love being in the heart of the suburb, close to so many independent pubs, bars, shops and cafes, not to mention the beautiful local park and famous urban farm. We couldn't ask for better neighbours!
These days, The Greenhouse is a bright and friendly space filled with leafy plants, relaxing tunes and beautiful décor, creating a vibrant, welcoming backdrop for focused work, tea-drinking and community events. But it wasn’t always that way.
Starting out as an empty shell of an industrial unit with grey concrete walls, many months of blood, sweat and tears went into transforming it into the space we know and love today. With invaluable help and support our friend Becci and her husband Rik, the space slowly but surely came together over the course of many months.
Relying exclusively on our personal time and money (not to mention the kindness of friends), weekend after weekend was spent painting walls, sorting electrics, buying furniture, finding plants, erecting trellises, making signage and building tables. We even had to deal with the entire unit flooding when a pipe in the kitchen came loose!
Wherever possible, we sourced things second hand, made them ourselves or called in favours with local tradespeople. Even the paint on the walls was provided by Seagulls, a fantastic organisation who specialise in reprocessing and distributing unwanted household paint. The budget was incredibly tight; without any residents in using the space whilst we were decorating, rent payments had to be covered with personal savings. And yet, somehow, we were able to open the doors to the public in early 2019.
We’ve come a long way without having to rely on any funding at all, but now we need to raise £6,000 in order to finish what we started!
We want to make sure everyone who uses the space has the best possible experience. Before that can happen, we have a checklist of important stuff we need to get sorted so we can start running at full capacity. In a nutshell, any money we raise will cover the cost of finishing, upgrading and enhancing the space.
First and foremost, we need to install all the missing fixtures, lighting and furniture we were unable to finish before we launched. We don’t currently have enough proper seats for all our desks and we’re missing several power sockets. We also have ongoing insulation and damp issues we need to contend with urgently.
There’s a bunch of other improvements and additions we need to make, including fitting new legs to our desks, installing a sound-proof booth for meetings and phone calls, and putting up proper weather-proof exterior signage so people can find us! We also want to team up with The Plant Room to install a bunch of new plants to decorate our (extremely bare) entrance atrium.
Originally relying on a combination of word-of-mouth and print flyers to find our first hot-deskers, we need to keep our website and marketing output running in order to extend our reach and let more people know we’re here if they fancy a change of workplace. We also need to purchase a new booking system to handle incoming requests for hot-desking.
We really want The Greenhouse to really live up to its name. On top of filling the space with plants and supporting nearby local businesses, we already use energy efficient light bulbs throughout the space, replenish our soap containers at The Refilling Station in nearby Chapel Allerton and recycle all our plastic, glass and paper.
But we want to inspire more green behaviours - bike parking facilities, for example, will encourage our residents to leave their cars at home. We would also like to replace the white panels on the front of our building with walls of moss to help absorb air pollution from passing traffic.
- Damp proofing & insulation
- Electrics (power sockets & lighting)
- Replacement desk legs
- Collaboration with The Plant Room
- Sound-proof booth
- Blackout blinds for workshops and events
- External signage
- Additional plants & picture frames
- Bike parking facilities
- Exterior moss wall
- Desk booking system
- Digital marketing & advertising
- Ergonomic chairs
We think £6,000 is the right amount to cover some of the priority items above. Anything extra we raise will go towards the remaining bits, purchasing additional tools and equipment for workshops and investing back into our community interest projects.
If you live in Leeds, we’re hoping you’ll come along and make use of the space and attend one of our workshops or classes! On top of our regular book club, first aid workshops, craft sessions and creative networking events, we recently hosted our very first yoga class. We want to continue to offer a wide variety of events and activities, such as showcasing local artists on a regular basis.
Being at the centre of a wonderful local community means we’ve been able to team up with a bunch of extremely wonderful people to put together a selection of amazing rewards.
10 x A6 Illustrated Postcards
Get your hands on a lovely collection of A6 postcard-size custom prints from local artists and friends of The Greenhouse, designed especially for this project! Check out all the super creative folk who gave us their time and their talent:
- Lisa Verrall
- Or8
- Amy Balderston
- Adam Allsuch Boardman
- Nat Hughes
- Rachel Powick
- Sonny Ross
- Eve Warren
- Gareth Barnes
- Noah Jacobus
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Goshwell Goods Leaf Hat
The result of a collaboration between The Greenhouse and Goshwell Goods, this awesome hat with a beautiful leaf-style pattern will be created from a hand-carved linocut print - and it can be yours.
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Made by Today: Necklace Pendant
Séarlait is a Northern Irish lass living in Yorkshire. She's the force behind her gorgeous jewellery and also Today Studio, a unique creative studio offering bespoke workshops where you can meet your favourite makers and learn how to start making for yourself. This beautifully unique silver necklace has been specially created for this project. View her instagram.
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Custom A3 print by Elettr
Ellie is an artist & designer in Leeds currently practising calligraphy and painting, with a focus on abstract calligraphy. Inspired by nature and space, she has a particular interest in the form of letters, pushing boundaries to create something wonderful and new. We're offering you the opportunity to own some of her amazing work. Visit her website.
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Tattoo by Becci Maryanne
Specialising in botanical flora, illustrative fauna and other lovely goodies, every tattoo Becci creates is intricately made and super lovely. Whether you're covered in ink or always fancied taking the plunge, this is your chance to get your very own beautiful hand-sized custom tattoo. View her instagram.
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And plenty more...
We have a bunch of other rewards for people who are able to donate smaller amounts, including tote bags, stickers and pin badges. Every single person who donates £5 or more will have their name included on the backers' plaque.
We also have an extra special package for anyone generous enough to donate £1000, including a mixture of all the other prizes, plus a special limited edition A3 print from Matthew the Horse!
However much you're able to spare, we'd like to thank you for taking the time to learn more about our project. It's been a real labour of love getting it this far, and with your support we can take it the next level and help The Greenhouse grow!