Building Creativity, Confidence and Connection

Building Creativity, Confidence and Connection in Leith

Reflecting on a Year of Community Engagement at EOW

For many people living in Leith, Edinburgh Open Workshop was simply a building they passed on the street without realising what was happening inside.

Over the past year, Community Engagement Officer Julie has helped change that, opening EOW’s doors to new audiences through tours, family activities, practical partnerships and hands-on events that helped the workshop feel welcoming and accessible to the wider community.

“The moments I love most were the tours,” Julie says. “Watching a group walk into EOW for the first time. People who previously had no idea we existed, or who had walked past the door a hundred times without coming in, suddenly started to imagine what they could make here.”

That sense of curiosity and discovery has shaped the programme from the start.

When Julie first stepped into the role, the priority was simple: listen and learn. Rather than arriving with fixed ideas, the early months were spent building relationships, speaking to local groups and understanding who already felt connected to EOW and who didn’t.

From there, community workshops, family days, maker events and collaborations started to grow steadily, and it became obvious that people were looking for more opportunities to make things, learn new skills and meet others locally.

“People were so ready to engage,” Julie explains. “Leith has an extraordinary creative energy and it’s a real joy to develop programmes that get people in and making.”

Group of visitors on a tour of the workshop

Opening the Doors to Creativity

One of the biggest priorities throughout the past year has been making activities feel approachable and easy to join, regardless of age, background or previous experience.

Informal community sessions proved especially successful, with participants responding positively to creative activities that encouraged experimentation without fear of “getting it wrong”.

Children transformed workshop off-cuts into miniature villages, monsters and submarines, while adults discovered new skills, self-belief and often a completely new awareness of what EOW offers.

More importantly, activities helped people see EOW as a space they could return to, experiment in and feel part of.

Child making a birdhouse during Family Day

Children making models from bits and bobs during the Festive Makers Market

A Year of Strong Community Partnerships

EOW partnered with a wide range of community groups and charities working with families, older adults and young people throughout the year.

These collaborations helped shape activities around the needs and interests of the different groups and some resulted in projects that continued to benefit them long after the workshops finished.

“I’m proud of the partnerships that became genuinely two-way, where EOW gave something and got something back in equal measure,” says Julie. “That’s what building a community is all about.”

Duncan Place

Designing and Building a Custom Sewing Table

Local community group Duncan Place visited EOW to create a custom sewing table designed specifically for the way they use their shared space. The group needed something practical and flexible: a table that could comfortably accommodate sewing activities while also being easy to move around the building when the room was needed for other activities.

The project started with a brainstorming session with EOW tutor Stuart, who helped them to develop a design that would meet their needs. Over four weeks, members visited EOW as part of their regular craft groups to build the table themselves. Along the way, they learned to use woodworking machinery, hand tools and finishing equipment, gaining confidence and practical making skills throughout the process.

To complete the project, the group’s logo was laser engraved onto the finished table, adding a personal touch to a practical, durable piece that was entirely designed and built by the group themselves.

Members of Duncan Place creating a custom sewing table in the workshop.

Edinburgh Wheels

Creating Pathways into Employment

After spotting one of Edinburgh Wheels’ skate park builds on her cycle to work, Julie reached out to explore how Edinburgh Open Workshop could support the group’s employability programme through access to workshop space and training facilities.

Edinburgh Wheels went on to run a week-long programme at EOW for 18 – 26 year olds who were not currently in education or full-time employment. Alongside gaining practical workshop experience and machine inductions, participants completed health and safety training towards achieving their CSCS cards, an important qualification that can help open up opportunities in construction and related industries.

By running the training within a real workshop environment, participants were able to connect the coursework directly to the kinds of spaces and practical skills they may encounter in future employment. At the end of the programme, every participant successfully gained their CSCS card and can now apply for jobs with a recognised qualification behind them.

Edinburgh Wheels member gaining workshop experience

Rock Trust & The Welcoming

Building Connections Through Creativity

Local charities, Rock Trust and The Welcoming were looking for a community space where they could run a series of workshops for young asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Edinburgh, as part of their Welcoming New Scots initiative.

Using EOW’s event space, the organisations created a relaxed and supportive environment where 16 – 25 year olds could meet others, explore local opportunities and connect with support services in the community. Across the sessions, participants took part in arts and crafts activities, circus skills, games and social workshops designed to build confidence and connection.

Following the success of the initial programme, the workshops are now set to continue as a regular monthly space for young New Scots in Edinburgh.

Charity The Welcoming using EOW event space to run workshops for New Scots

The Junction

Introducing Young People to New Creative Skills

Local community group, The Junction, visited Edinburgh Open Workshop as part of their monthly craft club for teenagers, which aims to introduce young people to new creative skills and experiences.

During their visit, the group took part in a knife carving workshop led by EOW resident woodworker Kirsty. The session formed part of a wider initiative encouraging young people to explore different creative environments and see creativity as a potential career path as well as a hobby.

The group enjoyed the experience so much that they are already planning a return visit to work with Kirsty on another project, building on the woodworking skills they learned during the session.

The Junction holds a monthly craft workshop at EOW

Looking Ahead

As the first year of the programme comes to an end, one thing has become very clear: meaningful community work takes time, trust and consistency.

“Real engagement takes longer than you think and pays off more than you expect,” says Julie. “Shortcuts really don’t work. Relationships do.”

Reflecting on the past 12 months, Julie believes the clearest measure of success is not just the number of workshops delivered or partnerships created, but the confidence people now feel walking through EOW’s doors.

For many local residents, Edinburgh Open Workshop is no longer just a building they pass on the street. It has become a place where they can learn new skills, meet others, experiment creatively and feel part of something.

With National Lottery funding secured for a second year of the Community Engagement role, EOW is now looking ahead to expanding workshops for families and young people, developing new partnerships and creating even more opportunities for local people to make, learn and connect through creativity.

Family enjoying the arts and crafts table during EOW's Family Day

Children's Textile Workshop during Family Day

Group tour of the EOW workshops by WAITF Community Trust members

If your group or organisation would like to arrange a tour of the EOW workshop please contact us here: GROUP TOURS

Building Creativity, Confidence and Connection in Leith