Young graduate Alice Feilden found it hard to forge a career in the arts – so she took matters into her own hands. She tells the Gazette about her childhood in Archway and her ambitions for the Hustle Club.

The daughter of a potter, Alice Feilden was surrounded by art during her childhood in Archway.

She graduated from Bristol University last year – but said without a vocational degree it was tough to find an avenue into the art world.

So now she’s created her own organisation that aims to help young artists like her.

“My mum is a potter,” she said, “so she always made sure we were involved with arts activities and she always made sure we were encouraged to be creative.

“It’s a great thing to grow up with so many arts facilities around you. I’m sure growing up in Islington has influenced my interest in the arts.”

Her new venture, Hustle Club, is an events company run voluntarily alongside her nine-to-five planning events for a networking firm called Editorial Intelligence.

Her ambition is for Hustle Club to host events year-round.

“I want it to act as a platform for artists and people who are interested in arts careers,” she said.

The name Hustle Club represents something you do on the side but ultimately love, she said, adding: “If it’s something you enjoy it’s not really work.”

Alice is now in the process of organising her first event – at The Depot N7 pub in Carpenters Mews, near the Cally.

It will include a number of different stalls, ranging from jewellery to handmade crafts to fine art. It will also include a van that has been converted into an interactive art space, and musical performances.

“The event will act as a place where artists can meet and inspire one another,” she said. Explaining why the day will be free to attend, she added: “I wanted it to be as inclusive as possible. I feel like a lot of art events today are so expensive.”

Alice has had to rely a lot on social media and word of mouth to raise awareness for the event, which she’s organising mostly on her own. And although the first market is in the Cally, she’s keen to bring future fairs back to Archway, where it all began for her.

“I want these events to contribute to Archway’s establishment as a lively, diverse and thriving London community with a strong sense of creativity and identity,” she said.

The event is on June 30 from 2 till 5 at the Depot N7.