Last Thursday, the BID hosted its spring Networking Event, presented by Andy Doodles, hosted in the back room at The Station, with catering generously provided by RES Accountants.
Continuing with our mission to make networking fun and different, the theme for this event was ‘caricature speed-dating’. The event kicked off with Andy, local artist and caricaturist and Voluntary Member of the BID, teaching us the fine art of capturing someone’s essence in a quick sketch. He taught us that all faces are actually just a combination of basic shapes – specifically rectangles, potatoes and sausages – and how to focus on the key elements of a person’s face and personality to translate it on to the page.
Andy started by drawing BID Staff Dylan and Matt, in front of everyone (much to the relief of everyone else in the room). Once we had received our quick crash course, it was everyone else’s turn. Trying to capture the person opposite you within 5 minutes, whilst they were also focused on their drawing of you, and trying to hold a conversation at the same time, proved a challenge to most of us. For those who hadn’t picked up a pencil for years, it was even more tricky. Because of this, many of the caricatures produced featured eyes looking down and intense looks of concentration. However, as the evening progressed, and we all became (a little) more comfortable with the process, and some genuinely decent portraits were drawn.
Even once the drawing was said and done, many of the attendees stayed to have a chat – which is really what the networking events are all about. We hope that everyone came away feeling more connected to their local business community.
Thanks to Andy, Lucy from The Station and Prasad from RES Accountants, as well as to everybody who turned up for the evening, which we hope was enjoyable and productive.
If you own a business in Kings Heath or the surrounding area, get in contact with us to be notified when we run our next networking event (taking place around August) where you’ll be able to meet other local business owners, chat and exchange ideas. We hope to see you there!
