Trustee Recruitment: BLUE GARAGE Foundation
The BLUE GARAGE Foundation is being established as a charity to help people make things, learn skills, and turn ideas into real, sustainable businesses.
I founded BLUE GARAGE after 15 years of building and scaling hardware companies, most notably KwickScreen, which I created after receiving a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Industrial Design Studentship and Design Fellowship. That support changed my life: it allowed me to study at the RCA, develop a product now used throughout the NHS, and see how design, engineering and manufacturing can meaningfully change lives.
With BLUE GARAGE, I’m now building the kind of space I wish had existed when I graduated, where ideas and prototypes can be developed into real products and viable businesses, and innovators will have all the support they need to thrive.
In just 11 months we’ve built a vibrant community of >50 founders, and have welcomed >2,000 people, from all backgrounds including students, scientists, artists and startup founders, learning, collaborating and building together.
Our Materialise innovation programme supported 27 early-stage materials, textiles and hardware ventures to prototype, secure funding and create jobs. We’ve also launched: Blue Tuesdays – open sessions for underrepresented local communities. Creative Reuse Residencies – exploring circular design and sustainable materials. UAL/RCA Bursaries – helping graduates bridge the gap from student to startup. School Outreach – hands-on workshops introducing young people to design and engineering.
We’re proving that in the right conditions, creativity and enterprise can fl ourish side by side.
38,000sqft of engineering, creativity and opportunity. People often say they can “feel” the positivity the moment they walk in. I like to think of it as a “garden for innovation”. A biodiverse ecosystem where collaboration, inclusivity and experimentation are the nutrients for growth.
As founders ourselves, we know how hard it is to start a hardware company. As such, we don’t give top-down advice; we share our lived experience with empathy, and we make real connections to people in our networks who can make a difference. This
authenticity and generosity is one of the things that makes BLUE GARAGE so unique and special.
My ambition for the Foundation is to secure our mission for the long term by:
● Advancing education through practical training in design, engineering and manufacturing.
● Promoting sustainability through circular design, advanced materials and high-value production.
● Supporting community development with affordable workspace, mentoring and accessible entry routes into innovation.
It will also hold the building’s lease to keep the space permanently affordable and publicly accessible. I want BLUE GARAGE to remain a home for innovation that stays accessible to everyone with talent and ambition.
I’m assembling a diverse and committed Board to guide our strategy, governance and growth.
Core roles include: Chair; Treasurer; Secretary/Governance; Fundraising & Communications.
Additional roles could include: University/Education Link; Industry & Innovation Expert; Community & Inclusion Lead.
I’m looking for people who want to be part of this journey, and who share my passion for creativity, entrepreneurship and inclusion. If you want to join me in shaping a more open, dynamic and fun innovation economy for the next generation of designers, engineers and makers, then get in touch! Please introduce yourself with a short note about your fi t for one of the above roles and why this mission resonates with you.
Many thanks,
Michael Korn
[email protected] 07886 034 601