Forward Space

16/10/2025

Meet Ian Fooks — or simply Fooks, as most people know him. He’s a design director, founder of , and a long-standing member at The Old Church School.

Take a peek inside his studio, meet the creatives he shares it with, and hear why TOCS has been the perfect base for his work.

Meet designer Ian Fooks, founder of Things by Fooks and long-standing member at The Old Church School in Frome. Discover his journey through UI and UX design, the creative energy of his shared studio, and why community is key to his work.

02/07/2025

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed we quietly launched a brand new website last month.

To celebrate, we thought we’d share some of the thinking behind the design, and the process of working with one of our members to build it. Read more below.

Over the past 18 years we’ve been quietly opening unique workspaces across the South West, most recently with Pixel in Penzance. In the coming months we’ll open the doors to our newest space – Foundry,...

06/08/2024

To celebrate International Coworking Day on Friday 9th August, we’re once again opening up our coworking spaces for FREE!

Swing by any of our buildings that have a coworking space (that’s Hamilton House Members in Bristol, The Old Church School in Frome and Collar Factory in Taunton), and work alongside other freelancers and remote workers for the day, absolutely free of charge! There’s free tea and coffee too!

To take up the offer, all you need to do is drop us an email saying you’d like to join us for the day and we’ll get you booked in!

Hamilton House - [email protected]
The Old Church School - [email protected]
Collar Factory - [email protected]

06/02/2024

We're delighted to announce that Boxworks is moving to Brabazon! Read more below.

Innovative workspace provider, Forward® has confirmed it is moving Boxworks – Bristol’s original shipping container workspace – from Temple Meads to Brabazon. Boxworks provides flexible studio space for start-ups and small businesses. For the last 7 years, these eye-catching containers have b...

17/10/2023

Win a 3-month tenancy in a fully furnished studio at Collar Factory!

Are you a new business just starting out, or a fledgling company finding its feet? One of the biggest steps for any new venture is finding a workspace.

That’s why Forward has teamed up with Tech South West, Digital Somerset and Teapot Creative to launch Startup at Collar Factory.

Win a 3-month tenancy in a fully furnished studio at Collar Factory Are you a new business just starting out, or a fledgling company finding its feet? One of the biggest steps for any new venture is finding a workspace. That’s why Forward has teamed up with Tech South West, Digital Somerset and Te...

27/04/2023

A day in the life of a professional dominoes player.

A little bit Wes Anderson. A little bit Frome.

Well done to the The Old Church School team for hopping on this trend!

08/03/2023

Today marks , a global day celebrating the cultural, political and social achievements of women across the world. It’s a day of recognition – recognising the remarkable things women have done through history and continue to do today, but also recognising that more still needs to be achieved. Gender inequalities remain entrenched within the global system and International Women’s Day aims to highlight this, advocating for a world free of gender discrimination and bias.

At Forward, we have many inspiring women who use our coworking spaces to run their businesses. This International Women’s Day, we’ve highlighted just a few of the brilliant women that continue to amaze us with their achievements in business over on our website.

March 8th marks International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the cultural, political and social achievements of women across the world. It’s a day of recognition – recognising the remarkable things women have done through history and continue to do today, but also recognising that more ...

15/02/2023

📣 APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY (17TH) THIS WEEK! 📣

www.boxworks.co.uk/startup

Our final judge for Startup at Boxworks is Alli Nicholas - membership manager at Creative Industries .

Here's what she's looking for from the entries:

"I’m really keen to hear from individuals and businesses who have the seed of an idea and feel they’d benefit from a supportive environment to help that idea grow and thrive.

This isn’t just a competition to win office space; it’s more about expanding networks, broadening horizons and providing robust foundations to aid future success, whether we’re talking about a product that’s new to market or a ground-breaking service with the potential to transform everyday lives. I’m hoping to see a range of applications that showcase the wonderfully diverse creative fabric of Bristol. And with several ways to apply, you can be as creative as you like!"

14/02/2023

Meet the judges - round two!

Forward CEO Gavin Eddy, shares a little more insight into what he's looking for in entries. Remember, the deadline is this Friday 17th Feb!

"I’m looking forward to seeing ideas with a strong creative element combined with technology or a fresh approach. Ex*****on is everything."

www.boxworks.co.uk/startup

13/02/2023

Meet the judges! The deadline for our Startup at Boxworks competition is fast approaching - there are just 4 days left to enter - so we thought we'd share a little more from each of our judges. First up, Emily Payne, Editor of Circus Journal.

"I'm looking for something original: I don't want to have seen your idea before, or feel that it adds to a saturated market. Successful applicants will scour the landscape for what's missing, and present new and boundary-pushing ways to bridge those gaps. Community, sustainability and good ethics should be inherent pillars; what sets your idea apart from others? Presentation can elevate, so I'll be looking for concise and measured content, and crisp, unfussy design."