PROFESSIONALISING

PRACTICE PROJECT

CORNER/SHOP NOW OPEN!

Corner/shop No 70 OXFORD ROAD, Thursday/Fri 10-5:30
Discover unique and beautiful giftware, all designed or hand-crafted by Manchester Metropolitan
University students, graduates and alumni. Open to the public Thursday/Friday 10-5:30

What is Corner/Shop? Corner/Shop & Market/place are retail testing project spaces at Number 70,
Oxford Road & Marketplace Studios, Stockport at Manchester Metropolitan
University. The spaces give the opportunity for students and graduates to develop
their products for sale directly to the public, with mentoring and support.

Mission Statement Our retail testing spaces are employability and enterprise projects providing space
for creative students and graduates to develop their products to a professional
standard, translating their creative practice into a route to income.

They are part of a wider Arts & Humanities Faculty employability project called
Professionalising Practice Project, or P3.

Why does it matter? Most new enterprises fail within their first three years, so retail testing spaces
provide not just an opportunity to develop students’ small businesses before and
after graduation but deliver the support, advice and opportunities to get
graduates' careers off the ground.

Corner/shop no70 and Market/place Stockport are the retail outlets for the
Professionalising Practice Project (P3).

Why are we doing this? The opportunities described support a number of key aspects of the University’s
Business.

Postgraduate Offer – The retail project spaces are highlighted as opportunities for
postgraduate students, and might be of particular interest to those undertaking
part time study who have also set up their own business. They also provide an
ongoing relationship for graduates, which could result in future postgraduate
enrolment.

Recruitment and Progression – The opportunity of progression from

Undergraduate programmes provides a tangible route into self-employment that
students choosing their university can see is available and relevant. This unique
and innovative project also provides a ‘USP’, marking our point of difference to
other universities in providing support beyond graduation.

Employability - The use of the retail project spaces for developing and testing
projects as well as exhibiting finished proposals provides undergraduates with
opportunities to engage with the public in a direct and professional way. They also
have the opportunity to collaborate with a wider student cohort and staff through
mentoring develop awareness and skills in professional practice.

 PROFESSIONALISING
PRACTICE PROJECT

The retail project spaces Introduce students to the skills required for product development, retail
also: management experience, face-to-face selling, pricing products, financial planning,
events planning and other skills required for becoming self-employed.

Prepare students for career-readiness, providing them with a ‘skills audit’ so that
they are aware how to translate their creative education into a sustainable career.

Provide engagement opportunities with the general public and communities in

Greater Manchester.

Provide a model for live briefs/commissions and potential collaboration with

external partners.

Demonstrate creative confidence in our students and graduates.

How does it work? Students and graduates engage in an extra-curricular programme of training, talks,
workshops and networking events (Professionalising Practice Project) which
introduce them to a wide-range of creative career options. Students can engage
with training, mentoring, support, tutorials, live briefs and commissions with the
opportunities which interest them and to the level of engagement suits their
ambitions and commitments.

Students & graduates can then apply to have their products stocked in one of the
retail testing spaces and their applications go to panel selection. If successful, their
products will be placed in the shops for a specified period of time (usually 3
months). If unsuccessful, they are given feedback on why their products have been
unsuccessful and offered support and mentoring to develop their ideas to a
commercial standard – and encouraged to apply again at a later date.

Successful candidates not only have their products stocked in the shop but also
are given training on the professional behaviours of providing stock to commercial
outlets (eg stock control, delivery notes, invoicing etc).

Products are stocked on a sale-or-return basis and students/graduates are issued

with a contract for the period of the selling project. Products are sold and the
student/graduate gets paid at the end of the selling project period, minus a small
commission which helps fund the project.

How many students Last year over 150 students/graduates exhibited/sold work through the retail
does this help? Spaces and over 550 students engaged with wider employability projects &
interventions linked to Marketplace Studios, P3 or Kraft/Work.

For more information please contact Clare Knox-Bentham (c.knox-bentham@mmu.ac.uk)