The Story of POW: A Haven for London's Makers

How it all began…

In West London's industrial heartland is a 6000sqft haven for makers of all stripes: professional restorers, DIY enthusiasts, sculptors; startups in need of prototyping facilities; tinkerers in need of a shed. The haven in question is Park Royal Open Workshops (POW), founded in 2023 as an accessible, affordable workspace, stocked with professional equipment that would otherwise be out of reach for most creators.

Prior to POW’s founding, the numbers told a troubling story: one in three artists and makers eventually abandon their practice; less than 20% of successful designers and engineers come from low socioeconomic backgrounds; and a mere 1.2% of revenue-generating artists are female. POW's founders saw these restrictions first-hand and decided that beyond solving their own needs, they could build something extraordinary for the wider community.

This is the story of how a shared belief in creative access brought together a team of corporate exiles, and how chance encounters and careful planning transformed a disused warehouse in Park Royal into a thriving makerspace.

Pow💥 Corporate Exiles Unite!

Ten years into careers as MiQ's VP of Products and Business Intelligence Lead respectively, Alex Rincon and Robyn Johnston were about to become corporate exiles. Alex enjoyed model making in his spare time, but the gap between what he was making and what their London flat could accommodate was growing wider. The couple had arranged a 12 month sabbatical from work to travel around Asia, but to satisfy a curiosity beforehand, Alex took a temporary lease of a small makerspace in Park Royal. During that short time, he couldn’t help but notice how other makers also struggled with access to workspace and equipment, not to mention the business acumen to transform creative skill into sustainable practice. "Living and working in London as a maker is challenging," Robyn recalls. "We experienced it directly – the space constraints, the safety concerns, the constant compromises."

Towards the end of 2022, Alex and Robyn’s curiosity was only increasing. Alex approached his workshop landlord Johnny Brewin about starting a small community workshop. Instead of a simple lease negotiation, Johnny revealed that he had access to a £100k grant from the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) specifically for the establishment of an open access workshop in Park Royal. "The timing was uncanny," Alex remembers. "Johnny had the space, I had the expertise, and we both shared the vision. Our needs aligned perfectly."

By now, the travel plans had been shelved and the couple started working on the grant proposal. "Within two months, our vision had completely pivoted," says Alex. With a Master's in Social Policy and experience managing complex projects at MiQ, Robyn provided the operational framework to transform their vision into reality. Very quickly, the nascent entity was insured, London Living Wage accredited, and structured as a not for profit.

A second stroke of luck came through Head of Regeneration and Economic Development at the OPDC, Alex Marsh (Marsh). His experience with BLOQs - another London makerspace - encouraged the team to think more ambitiously about what was possible. More importantly, he had an intimate knowledge of the grant system that would eventually provide crucial support for POW. "I was literally running the grant program that could fund this kind of initiative," says Marsh. "I immediately saw how POW could fulfill exactly what we were trying to support in the area."

The alignment of physical space, funding opportunities, and strategic support created the foundation that allowed POW to move from concept to reality in a relatively short time. By March 2023, what had begun as an idea became a 4000sqft makerspace within the EX2 Building on Park Royal’s Standard Road. The workshop included a 3-axis CNC machine, a table saw, compound mitre saw, bandsaw, and numerous other professional-grade tools, a classroom for training, a specialized spray room, and a digital suite for design and planning. The layout reflected the founders' understanding of the complete making process - from initial design to final production.

As POW grew, it began to generate its own gravity, pulling in more like-minded corporate exiles.

Seeking a change of direction, Marsh approached Alex about first volunteering at the workshop for a couple of days a week. Eventually this grew into an offer of a directorship, which brought valuable connections and an understanding of public-private partnerships to POW.

On a similar trajectory, ex-PWC consultant Fernando Bignotto had just established Candid Fine Woodwork and begun to use POW - first as a resource, then as a resident. POW and Candid began collaborating on projects for OPDC and Ealing Libraries. At the time, Alex was also researching which CNC machine to buy, so he sought Fernando’s research and analysis skills to help him decide. Several in-depth spreadsheets later, Fernando raised the prospect of joining the organization full time. His expertise in woodworking, particularly marquetry, also made him an ideal technical advisor so in November 2024, Fernando officially joined as Director of Operations, bringing both his craftsmanship skills and business acumen to the leadership team.

“One Day this will be the Best Place in the World”

At its core, POW balances two seemingly contradictory ideas: accessibility and excellence. "We're not interested in creating an amateur workshop where no-one cares about quality," explains Alex. "We want to lower the barriers to entry but maintain the highest standards of what's possible once you're in." With this foundation, POW's sights are now set on expanding both its physical space and its influence.

On the 17th of May, POW will begin its third incarnation, having spent the last eight weeks installing a second floor and a new suite of machines. Doubling the floorspace will increase the number of benches and resident spaces, while investments in advanced equipment will enable more sophisticated production capabilities. These developments are the foundation of a vision that goes beyond the initial workspace concept toward a more comprehensive production facility that can support makers at every stage of their creative and business development.

Ultimately, POW’s success will be measured by the doors it opens. Every new maker who learns a trade; every project completed that wouldn't otherwise exist; every career path that remains viable because of access to tools and space - these are the true metrics of impact. "Five years from now," Fernando says, "success won't just be that POW still exists. It will be that dozens of creative businesses exist because POW made them possible."

One day, this will be the best place in the world: