After reviewing how we do Digital Cafe, we trialled a new venue at the beginning of March. People had been struggling to find the old venue, the parking was difficult, and we sometimes found it noisy and the Wi-Fi patchy.
So, after a bit of looking around, we settled on “Olive & Vine” at Sheaf Bank Business Park, as a prospective venue. We gave it a go, with a new topic and new speaker too, and loved it!
If you haven’t come across “Olive & Vine” wine merchants, you’re missing a treat! Jane, the owner, has used a bare warehouse and made it into a fantastic, warm, welcoming space. The furniture is solid wood, with industrial heritage evident. She mixes this with delicate, pretty bone china to a lovely effect. She served us pots of tea and coffee, and put out delicious cookies too.
About 30 people came along, so the place was soon buzzing. After intros and signing in, we got started. The topic this time was “How to use Facebook to feed into your business pipeline”, which was presented by Katie Barber, digital marketing, content and social media freelancer. After a short break, the session became more interactive, with Katie answering questions, and a chance to throw ideas around, and swap experiences a little.
Comments from people who attended included “thanks – it was an informative event”, “it was a really valuable session which I feel was of great benefit, so many thanks”, and “really helpful morning”. People got talking and exchanging ideas and business cards, and many said they’d return for future events.
Sheaf Bank Business Park is only about half a mile away from the U-MIX centre, and very easy to approach from Chesterfield Road or Queens Road. There is on-site parking (pay-and-display for very small fee – £1 for 2 hours). We plan to signpost Olive & Vine’s door from the car park next time, just to make it as straight-forward as possible to find.
Digital Cafe will be re-starting again in late April, using Olive & Vine as our new home, and with a few new subjects up for discussion, as well as the tried-and-tested ones. If you have a request for a subject you’d like to have explained, and be able to discuss in a group setting, let us know by calling the datamills office on 0114 287 0510.
So, keep your eye on our EventBrite page for information on upcoming Digital Cafe topics and dates. Can’t wait to see you there at the next one!