By Melissa Clark
A NEW non-profit business is set to open on 8 September in an Edinburgh shopping centre.
ICE Store will display the work of independent designers and artists in Edinburgh’s St James Centre off of Princes Street.
The new shop will provide training and work experience for young people and showcase their work to a commercial audience.
The store wants to help young people gain work experience in various artistic fields
Designers who focus in fashion, art, jewellery and crafts will all be given the opportunity to work virtually risk free towards a business of their own in the new shop.
The concept for the store will bring a very diverse range of organisations together.
It will support 100 independent designers and provide work experience to 60 young people a year.
Further support and funding has been given from JCP (funding for employment training), The Lottery, Firstport Superior Renovations (interior design), St James Centre(premises), Tods Murray LLP (legal servies) and Monogram Creative (print and marketing design).
Joe Trodden, ICE store director, said: ““Our vision is that this could be blueprint we can replicate all across Scotland and the UK.”
He has spent the last two and a half years working directly with young people at The Prince Trust making him extremely experienced in this field of work.
Roger Horam, ICE store’s other director, is an experienced fundraiser and project manager through his own company, Red Lynx.
Around 25 per cent of Scotland’s youth are unemployed which is something that this new project hopes to lower.
The business wants to give young people the self esteem and confidence to make the most of their lives-particularly in careers where a lack of higher education may be an issue.
