The Canvas:

November 4, 2014

By Margriet Schuring

How do you get people to tell you how they really feel about something? Give them a pen and a canvas and you’ll be amazed!

The Canvas: is a new café and creative venue in Shoreditch where you can write on the walls which are blank for your thoughts, ideas, secrets and stories. What’s your favourite book? Tell us about tattoos? What’s your happy place? – Add your ideas and become part of a piece of live art!

The Canvas: is an initiative of actress and creative entrepreneur Ruth Rogers, who founded Body Gossip, a positive body image charity, in 2006. A few years ago she took her white IKEA sofa to festivals like The Edinburgh Fringe and invited people to write on the sofa how they really feel about their body. She was blown away by the passion and honesty of people’s words and has now taken this concept to The Canvas:

marge sanding staircase

before and after

A few of us Dot Dot Dot volunteers have been involved in getting the space ready for opening. We went from shouting red walls and a blue shop front to stunning white walls with a hint of Canvas yellow and lots of warm wood. I trained in interior design and helped with the concept, planning, visualising, sourcing and ‘hands-on’ work like sanding and painting. It is great to be part of this team and we are doing more beautifying in the next few months!

The Canvas: serves amazing drinks and home-made food and is a great spot for meeting friends or getting some work done. A full program of events and workshops will soon be available with a focus on helping people to fulfil their potential in life and build up self-esteem. In 2015 The Canvas: will open a theatre space too.

You can find the Canvas at 42 Hanbury Street in E1.

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Dot Dot Dot stands for property guardianship done well

We are a social enterprise which houses people in buildings that would otherwise be empty

We respect our guardians, selecting only the very best while supporting them to further the interests of their neighbourhood and to provide a high level of service to the property’s owner. This is a win-win-win for property guardians, owners and communities.

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“Being a guardian gives me the freedom to do good, invest time in work I believe in and be part of a fascinating community. It’s a no-brainer.”
Sam, Thamesmead
“Being a guardian here you have a place to work, a place to socialise and place of your own.”
Alex, Whitechapel
“There’s an instant community feel here which is great. Looking forward to organising movie nights and board games nights with the other guardians.”
Caitlin, Whitechapel
I feel strongly connected with my guardian neighbours. I am getting to know other parts of the community too, through my volunteering.
Jon, Wycombe
“Living in a Dot Dot Dot property has enabled me to do much more volunteering and reduce my hours at my day job.”
David, Croydon
“It’s great because I often work from home. Because it’s a huge building you have you’re own space, but if you want to hang out with other guardians you can.”
Sarah, Whitechapel
“When I started investigating guardianship options, Dot Dot Dot stood out because of the emphasis on volunteering and contributing to the local community.”
Alison, Bow
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Tom, Croydon
“It’s a really cool place – I can use it to work in like an office, and there’s already a great community.”
Pete, Whitechapel
“If I wasn’t a property guardian I would either be paying a ridiculous amount of money on renting in London or unable to move out of my grandmother’s house at all. I certainly wouldn’t be able to afford to spend time volunteering.”
Bella, Bow