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There are a whole load of groups on Facebook for the Custard Factory, some unofficial, some connected with Factory Club events but none for the complex as a whole. Until now, that is.

If Facebook is part of your online life you might find The Custard Factory group useful. Katie O’Neill (who you’ll know from reception) will be checking it daily for any comments and messages. Think of it as another way to get in touch.

Mouldy Loaf is an independent clothes brand and store which recently opens in Gibb Square. Here’s a photo from their launch:

Capsule have announced the dates for the 2009 Supersonic Festival, now in it’s 7th year, which will take place at the Custard Factory over the 24th - 26th July. Much more information here.

Items of interest found around the Internets

• Flatpack 2009 Installation trail - Interesting public aspect to the film festival taking place next month: “A string of shops from the city-centre down into Digbeth have agreed to give over their windows to students and alumni from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, who’ll be making work loosely inspired by the festival and early cinema.”
• Listen again to Birmingham Jazz gigs - They’ve started archiving recordings of their shows on their website for your post-event listening pleasure.
• Big Ballhead Sticker Hunt - Nicky Digbeth is searching for these striking stickers and mapping them. Can you help?
• Drama Over at Rhubarb Radio - Interesting news from the radio station based at the Custard Factory. Playwright William Gallagher is producing two radio dramas. The first, Attachment, will a 3×1hr thriller romance due to be broadcast in the summer featuring a local cast. Much more info at the link
• Corporate film firm Fullrange moves into Fazeley Stadios - Profile of the corporate film production company in the Birmingham Post.

A quick roundup from Teh Tubes.

First off, Capsule have produced a short promo for their Home of Metal project:

Next up, Nick Booth shows a journalist around Fazeley Studios:

The same journalist also interviewed me and shot some footage around the Custard Factory after out meet:

Footage of the somewhat legendary Butlins Pontins Bluecoats auditions in the Old Library from the Birmingham Mail:

Support West Midlands is a resource website set up by Advantage West Midlands “that offers real help to businesses and employees affected by the current downturn” by pointing to programs and organisations in the region that are tasked with keeping the economy stable.

Despite the funereal colour scheme (could it look more bleak?) there’s a lot in there including news of the West Midlands Task Force, “a gathering of leaders from government, business, regional agencies, local authorities and trade unions” who meet every month “to montior and influence how our region responds to the changing global economic picture.”

You may be aware of the Big City Plan, Birmingham City Council’s attempt to outline how the city centre will develop over the next few decades. It includes Digbeth so is very relevant to the Custard Factory and those who work here. A big part of the plan is consultation with councilors repeated stating they want to hear not just our views on the plan but our ideas for how it could be improved. So when the consultation document was published before Christmas on a website that included feedback facilities it was, for those of us who watch such things, rather exciting.

Unfortunately the document wasn’t perfect and while those with a background in city planning would be fine with the language used many others struggled. Also the comments went through a moderation system so discussion was stilted. It was a brave and important step for the council, one which they should be applauded for, but it wasn’t quite there. As such there was a danger that the much vaunted consultation wouldn’t actually happen, or at least wouldn’t reach out beyond the usual suspects.

Thankfully a small collection of people (disclaimer - they’re good friends of mine) have voluntarily and without permission translated the whole document into plain English and put it on a blog with completely open and threaded comments. They’re calling it Big City Plan Talk and it’s intended to compliment the main site and help it reach a wider audience.

Here’s an example of the work they’ve done, taken from the introduction:

Please find a few minutes to have a look through the site and leave your comments, no matter how short or seemingly inconsequential. You don’t need to register, just write and hit submit. To get you started, here’s the section on Digbeth.

And since there’s only three weeks left until the consultation period ends please spread the word to as many people as possible. Tell them it’s the work of unpaid volunteers who think the future of our city is too important to be ignored and that with a bit of effort documents like this don’t have to be impenetrable.

As usual, any opinions you might glean from this post are my own and not those of the Custard Factory.

Items of interest found around the Internets

• Where next for the Custard Factory and other independent venues? - Kennie from Big Cat (who recently moved their blog) speculates on the future of Space 2 as a gig venue.
• Home Of Metal at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery - The next in Capsule’s hugely successful run of open days for metal fans is on Feb 7th.
• Thoughts on the Jazz scene in Birmingham - Tony from Birmingham Jazz reflects.
• Win a Mickey Rourke signed poster of The Wrestler - Fused have three to give away. Compo ends on Jan 31st.
• Birmingham Business Bulletin - Monthly newsletter from the council. Includes a message from Neville Summerfield about the planning application system.
• Digbeth’s art space cluster - Nicky Getgood looks at the galleries and creative spaces in the area and proposes Digbeth becomes synonymous with art in the same way Hay of Wye is synonymous with books.
• Bluecoat auditions held at the Custard Factory - Loads of photos of wannabe Pontins entertainers strutting their stuff in the Old Library.
• Capsule gigs posters by Ben Javens - Capsule list their upcoming gigs and show off the lovely posters Ben Javens has done for them.
• Harnessing Lunar Hysteria at Fazeley Street Studios - Digbeth Is Good has video and reportage from the show that’s running until January 23rd.

Here’s a video of Ian Cook’s Poundland Tree being constructed in a Custard Factory studio over 4 days.

From the YouTube blurb:

Creation of a Christmas tree sculpture created entirely out of Poundland Christmas products - commissioned by the high street store Poundland for their Christmas promotion, created by Popbang artist Ian Cook.

The tree stands at 6 foot tall and has no glue holding it together. Featured within the tree includes USB Christmas trees, head boppers, reindeer earmuffs and tree lights.

The tree took 4 days to create at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. This footage is a time lapse compilation of the footage filmed.

Items of interest found around the Internets follow this nice photo from Birmingham Phil:

• Mama Matrix at The Rainbow - John Mostyn’s live music agency Consider It Done profiles one of their artists along with video from a recent performance.
• The Punch Update - December 2008 - Their monthly PDF newsletter.
• Capsule’s advice to Birmingham - There’s a bit of buzz around the blogs at the moment about the Big City Plan and the Creative Director notion. Here’s Capsule’s contribution to the debate.
• Can you keep it short and sweet? - Tindal St Press are looking for short stories between 2,500 and 4,000 words to be published in an anthology edited by Catherine O’Flynn. The link is to a substantial article in the Birmingham Post which gives all the details.
• Big City Plan public consultation - who’s in? - Stef Lewandowski tries to inject a bit of energy into the Big City Plan consultation process. In my view it’s essential to get some more intelligent voices heard lest the usual suspects take over. So get in there.