Printworks Membership FAQs

Printworks is a small and very friendly workshop group. We have been going for nearly six years now. Our two main aims are to be a practical and creative resource for our members, and to provide an affordable educational experience for non-members who want to try out printmaking in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Printworks Monthly Membership costs £40 a month for a minimum of three months (and then ongoing with a full month's notice). Alternatively it is £120 per three months , £200 per half year or £400 per full year. We also charge an initial deposit of £20 (refundable) for a set of door keys. There are no other general workshop fees for use of the space by Members.

In addition we now offer these options:

Temporary membership: £90 per month (plus £20 refundable key deposit)
Guest of (and accompanied by) a permanent member: £20 per day.

We can start a new membership at any time in the year but it is usually simplest to start at the beginning of a month. We ask that anyone arranging monthly membership agrees to a minimum of three months and give a months notice if they decide not to continue. If you are likely to go on longer then it is more economic for you to take out annual (£400) or half-annual (£200) membership. This also helps us manage our finances so we can cover outgoings such as workshop rent, utilities and insurance... and it's much less fuss on both sides.

Becoming a Printworks Member means you get your own set of keys and have a short induction session on using the facilities, general health & safety matters etc. We also try to identify which areas of printmaking you are most interested to explore, and align that with any forthcoming Member sessions that suit your particular interests. Once you are comfortable with finding your way around the print facilities you can have 24 hour access to the workshop. You can come in at any time that it is not pre-booked for a teaching session and work there as long as you like.

We currently use a simple Google calendar so you can put yourself in for whatever times and days you plan to be there. This is so other Members can see if a particular press or other process is likely to be in use. Many people prefer to work with other printmakers around as this supports more shared learning but sometimes Members may want to work on their own.

We write down in a book any sheet materials like paper or printing plates that we use and then every couple of months we bill ourselves for what we used. This allows people to come in and do printing without having to go and buy essential materials beforehand, and means we all get the benefit of cheaper prices through bulk-buying. Of course there’s nothing to stop you bringing in your own preferred materials and keeping them in a box or drawer for convenience. Again it’s a question of being flexible about your individual needs.

You get the benefit of a Members' discount (approximately 22%) on any commercial courses we run. We also do frequent member-only training sessions on new and established techniques as a way to share and develop our skills and creative practice. For these we just invite a small donation towards any special materials used. These are a really important and affordable way to develop our printmaking skills and experience without breaking the bank. These Member-only sessions seem to be very popular and have become the basis for some informal groups eg Lino and Woodcut, Intaglio/Etching and possibly in future also Screenprinting.

Members get the benefit of discounted exhibition facilities with the nearby ‘Old Grocery’ space on the High Street which our friend and colleague Jonathan Hawkins recently opened as an art and event space. We make use of this excellent space several times a year for Printworks shows. These have been very successful opportunities to show and sell framed or mounted work. We build-in a modest commission to the selling price of work at these group shows which goes back into Printworks as a contribution towards general running costs. We also have some display facilities (large exhibition boards, display plinths, mounting materials and a small selection of re-usable frames) which are free for Members to use when putting on their own shows.

If you need more information, want to have a phone chat or feel you would like to come and have a look round then please contact

John Wallett
Wivenhoe Printworks Chair
email: johnwallettdesigner@gmail.com
landline: 01206 820 849
mobile: 07757 305327

or

Carol Munn-Giddings
Printworks Member Representative
email: carol.munngiddings@btinternet.com

Great! If you are really ready to roll please contact Carol Munn Gidings to sort out your preferred length of Membership period and when you want it to start.

Carol Munn-Giddings
Printworks Member Representative
email: carol.munngiddings@btinternet.com

Generally we pay our memberships by bank transfer or standing order a couple of days before the month in question. This helps our general cash-flow since most of our regular outgoings (rent, insurance and utilities) go out in the first few days of the new month. Our bank details are:
Account: Wivenhoe Printworks
Sort code: 60-05-33
Account number: 23610778

We can arrange payment details and supply of keys when we confirm your new membership starting date.

If you want an 'insider-view' of what it's like to join Printworks then maybe speak to Carol Munn Giddings. Carol is our Member Representative and can give you her personal view of why she joined and what she gets out of being part of Printworks.

Carol Munn  Giddings
Printworks Member Representative
email: carol.munngiddings@btinternet.com