Young creatives given the green light in London

02 July 2009

Kioskiosk powered by the sun courtesy of Green Energy UK

Green Energy UK is powering a new pop-up shop that offers rent-free retail space for budding creative entrepreneurs in central London. KiosKiosK, standing near City Hall on the South Bank, is the vision of Green Energy UK customers Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway, and will give dozens of fledgling creative businesses the opportunity to sell their wares between now and September 3.

All the electrical items within KiosKiosK – from lights, to laptops and even a sewing machine – are powered by Green Energy UK using totally renewable and carbon free power from the sun. Doug Stewart, chief executive and founder of Green Energy UK, says: “We became involved after Wayne invited us to help. Wayne has long been a customer of ours and has been fantastic in his support for us by recommending our electricity to friends and by giving us coverage on his web site. It’s an exciting project and I’m pleased we are a part of it. As a young business ourselves we appreciate the difficulty entrepreneurs face when starting out. We wish the businesses sharing KiosKiosK every success for the venture.”

Gerardine Hemingway MBE and Wayne Hemingway MBE started the iconic Red or Dead brand from low cost 'easy in, easy out' starter units at Camden and Kensington Markets and Affleck’s Palace in Manchester. They believe it has now become increasingly difficult for start-up creative businesses to find affordable retail space. KiosKiosK, created by HemingwayDesign, is providing rent-free space for people with creative products to sell, helping new businesses with great ideas to get a step-up on the ladder to success in tough economic times.

Wayne Hemingway says: “We believe that the KiosKiosk concept is a simple and cost effective way to spice up our towns and cities. This architecturally interesting, easy to construct retail space, gives entrepreneurs and creative minds a chance to have a go and put their ideas in front of the public to encourage an enterprise culture. This also adds excitement to our streets. We've been overwhelmed by the phenomenal response to our call for KiosKiosk occupants proving through this experiment, that the demand and talent is out there.”

KiosKiosK was officially opened by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, on July 2