Secret Santa ends our first full year

The official Sharp Project 2011 wind-down began just before Christmas with drinks, mince pies, secret Santa and an informal tenant get-together. This has been the first full year of occupancy, and with 75% of the spaces now filled, compared to about 30% this time last year, there was a real sense of progress, even pride, in the air. It was reassuring to see that most of the tenants present at last year’s event were still here, and fantastic to see the newer ones mingling.

The gift-giving got under way, with bottles of wine and beer, chocolate robots, coasters and a Manchester United toilet brush among the gifts changing hands, with varied degrees of gratitude being shown.

Since Tim got Dawn the art set in The Office, it takes a very special secret Santa gift to bring a tear to our worldly eyes. But the Boot Room’s gift did just that. It was a deep, heartfelt, touching gift that sent an emotional frisson through the assembled guests, and was a perfect trophy to remind us all that without Keith’s and Ken’s inspiration, none of this would have been conceived. Let’s hope they can think of a suitable place to put it.

Over 2011, The Sharp Project’s sound stages became temporary homes to two major TV productions, Mount Pleasant and Fresh Meat. We also hosted several conferences, summits and other events, most notably the Creative & Digital Summit on 29 June which coincided with our official opening, as well as that of George Atkins’ 80 Hertz Studios. Considering we have still been in launch mode throughout the year, that’s not bad going.

So what will 2012’s Christmas party look like? Considering where we are now and where we were last year, the trajectory looks good. But just like everyone else in the country and in the wider world, we’re battling against nervous businesses’ retreat into the comfort of a pessimistic conservation footing. The creative industries do seem to be coping, and in some cases growing, even while the situation on the high street and in manufacturing looks less certain. Perhaps this is the moment when the digital realm finally proves itself as a weatherer of storms, a cost-effective way to keep the wheels of commerce rolling. If so, The Sharp Project has arrived just in time.

In the coming months our local tram stop at Central Park will open, making Manchester city centre a few minutes away and closing off the final gap in physical infrastructure (at least until we get planning permission for a runway). Our campus and café are opening in early March and will mark a real sense of completion in the project. We’ll also be welcoming new businesses, and maybe bidding reluctant farewells to those who outgrow their cloches, but we can be assured that they’ll leave the building weighed down by their former neighbours’ business cards – and long may the cycle continue.

Happy 2012!

Charlie Hankers