People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol Favourites: Simone Kidner
Simone Kidner is the founder and owner of Co-LAB, a space that provides a platform for Bristol artists giving them an opportunity to make a living from their work. The shop is being forced to move from its current location due to rising rents and is currently crowdfunding to help secure its future:
Simone is also the chief executive of PAPER Arts, a social enterprise that supports young people to start a career in the arts by teaching creative entrepreneurism. Her latest project has been to open Redbrick House in St Paul’s, a collaborative workspace for freelancers, start-ups and creatives.
Here are Simone’s top-five Bristol favourites:
The creative pull
“Bristol is one of those cities that creative people are attracted to but never leave, making it a vibrant exciting city to live in. I’ve built my business around supporting creative people in Bristol. It’s so rewarding helping others to make a living from what drives them.”
Door & Rivet
“Door & Rivet is my local cafe just up the road from our new workspace, Redbrick House. This little cafe – tucked away at the bottom of a church just off City Road – plays good music, has the tastiest food around and friendly people to top it off.”
The abundance of green space
“There are so many parks and open green spaces in Bristol that sometimes it hardly feels like a city at all. Being surrounded by fields, woods and beautiful estates like Ashton Court, it takes minutes to get into the countryside and as a dog owner this is important to me.”
The meet-up culture
“If you have an interest in anything, you can find a meet-up for it in Bristol. The city is so accepting of people. You can go to a meet-up and make friends as well as learn about topics that interest you. A lot are free or just £2. I like how inclusive the meet-ups feel.”
Napolita
“I love pizza and the guys at Napolita on Mina Road in St Werburgh’s know how to make pizza! The interior has just been refurbished making more space for inside seating. Their wood fire stove makes the crispiest pizzas. They’re huge but somehow I always manage to get one down!”
Read more: Support local artists and help save Co-LAB