Patch Places

🎬 Patch Gloucester: A New Home for Bold Ideas

Six months ago, we opened Patch Gloucester to create a place where people could do their best work, build ambitious businesses, and connect with others shaping what comes next.

🌐 Half a year on, it’s been amazing to be part of what’s taken shape.

💻 Patch Gloucester has become a home for Gloucester’s fast-growing cyber and tech ecosystem, including organisations such as CyNam and Tech4Good South West, alongside a growing network of technology-focused businesses and startups.

🤝 In that time, we’ve hosted over 100 events, bringing people together to learn, share ideas, and build new connections, from an Anthropic Claude masterclass and regular Tech Tribe Meetups to BNI gatherings, founder workshops and poetry evenings.

⚡️ A recent highlight was our Tech Futures Summit, delivered in partnership with CyNam () and supported by an exceptional group of speakers and collaborators, including Hollie Wakefield (CyNam), Reid Derby (CyNam / HMG), Annie Legge (Tech4Good South West), Alex Cottrell and Clare Marchant (), Alice Violet (), Chris Dunning-Walton (CyNam), Saul Klein (), Gerard Grech CBE, and Jo Miller ().

🌱 We’re still at the beginning, but already proud of what’s emerging: a thriving community of people building businesses, projects, and ideas from the heart of Gloucester.

🎥 We’ve captured a short film that reflects this journey so far: A New Home for Bold Ideas. We’d love for you to take a look.

👋 Meet James, the founder building brand identities for startups and scale ups that want to stand out.

✏️ As the mind behind design agency in , he blends human creativity with AI to speed up the design process and make great design more accessible to new businesses looking for that edge.

🚀 He’s first up in The Growth Edit, our new series celebrating the people building something brilliant from their corner of Patch.

🌱 We’re chatting about his approach to making brands feel distinctive, his take on building bespoke identity in a world of AI, and what it’s like launching a business at Patch with his co-founder, Beth.

📩 Looking to build a brand that truly reflects where you’re heading? Chat to James at www.symonds.co

🍇 Between Vines comes to Patch in

We recently welcomed the team from Between Vines, a family-run business based in Essex, for an evening of community, connection and wine tasting here in Market.

It was great to watch our space fill up with neighbours, creators and local friends sharing a glass, discovering something new, and building real relationships.

Missed out the fun? This Friday, Between Vines is back to take us on a new tasting journey through the wines of Iberia. Head to our Chelmsford What’s On page for tickets.

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It was a joy to kick off our partnership with Creative Founders UK at their very first event at Patch in last month ✍️.

Creative Founders UK is a new curated space for creatives entrepreneurs across Essex to sharpen their thinking, grow stronger businesses and build meaningful connections through in-person events and creative activations.

Huge congratulations to the founders behind it: from , , Harry Milton from , and Joshua Ayettey from . We’re excited to support this brilliant initiative as it grows 🌱.

The next Creative Founders UK event lands on Thursday 18th June, back with us in . If you’re an Essex creative looking for your people, you’ll want to be in the room. Head to What’s on page to find out more.

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