THE HISTORY
The whole backbone of this idea is nurturing creativity in kids, and to help this the workshop space also plays an important part. The inspiration came from a place called 826 Valencia, set up by the author Dave Eggers. The story: back in 2002, some friends in San Francisco had an idea for a youth writing and tutoring centre. They rented a building for this purpose, only to learn that the address was zoned for retail: they could do their writing and tutoring, sure, but they had to sell something in the front of the building. So they decided to sell pirate supplies, and to decorate the storefront as if it were a real shop for working buccaneers. It was a ludicrous solution to a bizarre problem, and it ended up being the key to everything. It brought people in - random people, shoppers, tourists, potential students, donors and tutors. Most non-profits are more or less closed to the world.
This one was unexpectedly open. Once inside, visitors could see the students hard at work, and they might be more likely to buy a peg leg or puffy shirt. Soon enough, similar groups around the world started opening their own centres, adapting the idea however they saw fit. They are all loosely affiliated in a new body called the International Alliance of Youth Writing Centers. The alliance comprises the Echo Park Time Travel Mart (a convenience store for temporal sojourners), The Superhero Supply Store in Brooklyn, Fighting Words in Dublin, the beautifully insane Grimm & Co in Rotherham, The Ministry of Stories in London, England, and about forty other learning centres around the world. The Pirate Store - a retail operation with a full time manager - helped pay the rent, and helped create a bridge with the neighbourhood and city, with the most random passersby. The storefront itself became a weird kind of destination.
Who’s behind it?
The founder of the charity, Nick Goldsmith comes from a film producing background having made feature films like Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy and Son of Rambow, plus hundreds of music videos and TV commercials. The charity will utilise all these contacts for some of the basis for workshop ideas but also to help provide those real world outcomes for the projects that we embark on. This could be having film scripts made professionally or getting a campaign actually produced into a TV commercial or simply having professional people run the actual workshops. The possibilities are incredibly exciting and endless.
Meet the Team
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Nick Goldsmith
FOUNDER / DIRECTOR
Email: nick@thebankofdreamsandnightmares.org
Nick has spent the last 30 years producing music video, TV commercials and a couple of feature films; The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Son of Rambow. Nick studied graphic design at Central St Martins School of Art and has taught part time on the MA screenwriting course. The idea for setting up a charity came to him whilst visiting San Francisco and stumbling upon the creative writing workshop started by Dave Eggers called Valencia 826. After buying an eyepatch from the Pirate store the decision was made and it was soon clear that running a film set, is not that far off from working with children and in fact on the whole the children are much better behaved!
Autobiography title: Waiting for Pickles.
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Ed Swift
CREATIVE LEARNING MANAGER
Email: ed@thebankofdreamsandnightmares.org
Ed is a writer and teacher who has been telling big fibs and tall-tales professionally since he was 18. He studied Creative Writing at Greenwich University and started as a script-writer of plays, songs and musical theatre.He has written short-stories, short-films, short musicals, short poems, and epic Haikus. Being the Creative Learning Manager at the Bank is Ed's perfect job because the only downside to writing is that you usually have to do it on your own. He lives with his family in a large, gothic mansion overlooking a mist-covered forest, where he cares for something shy and dangerous that lives in the attic. He thinks the process of writing is usually fun, sometimes frustrating, but it's always better than doing the ironing.
Autobiography Title: Cheese and Ham, Please.
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Amberley Carter
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Email: ambs@thebankofdreamsandnightmares.org
Amberley’s volunteering debut was in a 1970s Oxfam fashion show; she also painted giant jellyfish for the local shop window displays. After an epic sponsored walk for the RNLI, she won a trip on a lifeboat but was too short to skipper the helm. She went on to study English and Art History at Cambridge, before heading off to France for 6 months, only to return 10 years later. She has spent the last 30 years in education and puts it down to being a natural facilitator. Empowering children and young adults through creativity and the power of the spoken and written word is what makes her tick. Amberley volunteered with The Bank from the very beginning and loves connecting with the community in her role as coordinator.
Autobiography Title: Don’t Believe a Word!
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Claire Shaw
WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
Email:claire@thebankofdreamsandnightmares.org
Claire is an arts manager and creative workshop leader. She has 15 years experience in fundraising, programme development and strategic planning. With a BA in Performing Arts, Claire began her career as an opera singer. But arts education held her heart and this soon led her to Wigmore Hall and its development department. Full of wanderlust she then crossed an ocean to work at The Metropolitan Opera, venturing further west when the time was right to San Francisco. It was there she fell in love with the work of 826 Valencia and trained to be one of their volunteers. Claire’s superpower is improvisatory story and song creation with young humans. Their ideas blow her away on a daily basis and her dreams are often filled with the weird and wondrous. Two headed cooks, a King Giraffe, falling into a snowglobe world with only 24hrs to escape! Claire's commitment to making arts education accessible to all is her driving force, and she hopes her knack for finding money in unusual places and obsessive list making skills will come in handy at the Bank!
Autobiography Title: Life of a Gerbil
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Simon Deverell
Trustee
Simon is the founder and creative director of Crowdfunder, UK's largest crowdfunding platform. An entrepreneurial professional with a BAHons in Graphic & Media Design from London College of Printing. Experienced Founder and Creative Director with a demonstrated history of working in the media production industry. Skilled in Brand, Digital Strategy, Design, User Experience, and Integrated Marketing. With over 20 years experience is responsible for Crowdfunders brand marketing, platform, partner product and international expansion. Simon's previously headed-up significant behavioural-change campaigns and formats including Big Brother, UEFA.com, Fish Fight & River Cottage. He has also headed-up large scale corporate digital platforms for The National Lottery, Aviva and Ladbrokes.
Autobiography title: I’ll go for a run tomorrow
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Niki McCretton
Trustee
www.aloadofstuffandnonsense.co.uk / www.the-lyric.com
Niki McCretton is a theatre owner, cultural entrepreneur and creative, with over 30 year of experience in the creative sector, as a director and performer, specialising in creating world-class theatre for families. Her super power is connecting with children and finding ways, in collaboration, to enhance children ideas and creative innovations.
Her company Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company is a leading national touring company in the UK reaching over 25,000 people each year with their productions. Niki's venue, The Lyric Theatre in Bridport UK, is a creation hub for theatre makers, where Niki passionately supports artists throughout her coaching, mentoring and backing to create their unique work and carve a living from their talents.
Autobiography Title - Seriously Playful
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Mick Smith
Trustee
Mick Smith has considerable experience of management and project development in the arts, setting up creative incubation spaces, delivering organisational development support mentoring and being Chair of Trustees for nine years at aspace arts in Southampton. Mick is also a musician who has written for film theatre and general release, along with recording and performing with various artists over the years. Strange happenings include supporting Jamiroquoi, having songs translated into Creole, released internationally and on film, and writing an original score for Mother Courage for a brilliant little youth theatre company on the Isle of Wight.
Autobiography title: Barking at Life
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Jess Morency
Trustee
Jess Morency is a novelist and feature writer. Originally, after a few years in London working as a waitress and in PR and Advertising, she went to Sussex to read English - despite admitting in her interview that she’d only read one book, by Jilly Cooper, in the previous six months. This was followed by an eclectic range of jobs: including the world of finance; social housing fundraising; then a stint at the Body Shop - working as Anita Roddick’s assistant. For six years she worked as an English teacher, then in 2002 she co-founded Water Babies; now the world’s largest baby swim school.
Autobiography title: Eating Frosties on a Bus
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Joel Collins
Trustee
Joel Collins is a Bafta award-winning production designer and executive producer of TV dramas, features and commercials. Best known for his work on His Dark Materials, Black Mirror and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he’s currently working on the new series of Dr Who, featuring Ncuti Gatwa as the new doctor (who he says, ‘blew him away’ when he auditioned). Creativity is something Joel values highly, not least in his current executive producer role. ‘As a kid you’re watching this show avidly on TV, then suddenly you’re on set – touching everything, fiddling with everything and going, ‘Oh my God, look at these miniatures and creatures and all this craziness. I’m completely inspired by it all.’
Youth advisory board
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Eddie Rose
My favourite books (can't choose one!) are the Book of Dust by Phillip Pullman (a complex and magical story, equal parts thrilling and fascinating) and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (a work of pure genius, absolutely hilarious and so much fun to read). A special mention as well to the Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.
I'm passionate about charity work which helps people or creates positive change, and the power of storytelling to inspire empathy, insight and joy.
My role model- probably Lin Manuel Miranda, because he is an incredibly talented writer, musician, actor and director, but also an activist who is determined to help others, and he comes across as a genuinely kind and caring person.
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Rosie Mathewson
I love writing because I have an overactive imagination. My head is always filled with words — stories, poems, essays, or just really bad jokes — and writing it all down helps me keep track and develop my ideas. It’s exciting to read something and know that I wrote it; that it was my brain, my thoughts, my work, that created it. I hope that if other people read what I’ve written, they feel as proud of it as I do.
If I were to write an autobiography, I would call it: I Can’t Remember Exactly When This Happened (because that’s what I always say before telling someone events from my life).
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Talis
Favourite book and why:
The bloody chamber by Angela Carter
It was hard to choose a favourite book because I love so many, but I chose The bloody chamber because of the overwhelming beautiful descriptions and the captivating reworking of fairytales we all know.
An area or topic you are most passionate about:
I am obsessed with folklore
Role model:
Aphra Behn - the 17th century female playwright, writer and poet
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Millie Downton
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Zoe Burwood
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