Whether you’re a devoted film buff or a virtual reality gamer, there’s a good chance your favourite content was brought to life with help from some of the country’s small but talented creative businesses. All across England, numerous freelancers and small companies are involved in high-profile and impactful projects – but few of us know who they are. “The further away from London you are, the harder it is to get visibility,” says Caroline Norbury, CEO of Creative England.
So, once a year, Creative England puts together a list of 50 impressive businesses it feels the world should know more about. “It’s our way of shining a light on all the businesses that are based all across the country who are doing exciting, different and interesting things,” explains Norbury. “These are companies we think the world needs to know about.”
Erase All Kittens
The wonderfully named Erase All Kittens (EAK) was founded in 2015 with the mission to teach girls to programme and code through computer games. Its “Mario-style” game has introduced 140,000 players in more than 100 countries to computer coding languages; more than half of those users are girls. “When I was at school, my dream was to be a games designer, but since there wasn’t anyone like me making games, it didn’t seem like an option,” says co-founder Dee Saigal. “We don’t want girls to grow up lacking in confidence and thinking that boys are smarter,” she adds.
The business has gained grant funding from Innovate UK and has built partnerships with heavyweights such as Microsoft, MIT and BBC Make It Digital. However, Saigal says her highlights have come when she’s been working in a classroom showing kids how to code. “The best moments were when we beta-tested our finished prototype with young girls at schools in the UK and at coding events across Syria and Lebanon. Before playing EAK, only 10% of girls wanted to learn about coding, and after playing this increased to 95%, which we were very excited about.”
CanCan
TV production company CanCan Productions, led by former BBC executive Rebecca Papworth, specialises in drama and comedy. Its debut broadcast was Home from Home, a comedy series starring Johnny Vegas and Emilia Fox that appeared on BBC1 in 2018. Now Papworth has recruited Bafta-winning drama executive Kieran Roberts to the business to help oversee the drama slate.
Papworth says of the company’s headquarters in Hebden Bridge, a creative hub equidistant between Leeds and Manchester: “It’s a wonderful, creative place, though I seem to spend most of my time in meetings in London, Leeds and Manchester!”
The business is in development with a number of broadcasters, is currently being supported by Creative England’s “Evolve” programme and has gained private funding as well as a development deal. “Getting backing from a big distributor was a huge confidence boost that ignited our ambition,” says Papworth. She points out that Channel Four is coming to Leeds and recognition for authentic regional companies is growing across the broadcast landscape. “Hopefully we’ve landed at the right time to make some great television using local talent with content that can appeal to audiences everywhere.”
Auroch Digital
Bristol-based Auroch Digital, established by Tomas and Debbie Rawlings, has been in the games business since 2010. It has collaborated on projects with an impressive list of names, including the European Space Agency (ESA), Games Workshop and the Wellcome Trust. The 16-strong company makes games that focus on real-life issues. For instance, its work with the ESA meant it gained access to genuine space explorers and scientists, adding an “extra level of authenticity and realism” to the Mars Horizon game.
Auroch Digital is operating in a massive and growing market. Modern game development is becoming more advanced all the time, which can lead to long and expensive production cycles, says Tomas. But the company has prospered in this challenging landscape through collaborations and partnerships. “Games is a notoriously tough industry in which to survive, let alone succeed. So the fact we’re still here nine years later is something I’m really proud of,” he says.
Abandon Normal Devices
For the past 10 years, Manchester-based Abandon Normal Devices (AND) has been making a name for itself by commissioning and producing some of the UK’s most original art installations and projects. Director Ruth McCullough describes its work as “staging projects that spill out of the gallery and into the street”. One example was the VR installation In the Eyes of the Animal, created by Marshmallow Laser Feast, where users could experience the perception of different animals and insects living in a forest via a VR headset, scents, sounds and vibrating body packs.
AND has worked with a substantial number of traditional partners, including the National Trust, Jodrell Bank Observatory and Forestry Commission England, to deliver its thoroughly non-traditional projects. “The audiences who engage with us range massively, from project to festival, and the locations where we work. Often, it’s new audiences who haven’t experienced the kinds of work we produce and help by questioning what we do and who it is for,” says McCullough.
Made Open
Made Open’s software platforms are designed to give communities a “means to engage”, so they can “exchange information, services and resources with each other”. Led by Kathryn and Robert Woolf and based near Truro, Cornwall, the business has been in operation since 2001, and counts several local authorities, health trusts and charities among its clients. “Our market is any organisation that wants to build a community that is a force for good,” says Robert.
Getting the product right has taken some time, he says, recalling a project in Tasmania that struggled to gain traction. He had little choice but to jump on a plane and get hands-on. “Three days of back-to-back interviews helped me to understand that there was still a strong need for our platform, but it wasn’t working effectively enough,” he says. Hard lessons were learned and a total overhaul of the platform was undertaken. That work is now paying off, with Made Open acquiring many new clients in 2019 and predicting a healthy growth for the coming years.
Discover tomorrow’s creative leaders and check out the full CE50 list at creativeengland.co.uk/ce50
