About Us

About COLLECTIVE.

COLLECTIVE. is an independent Community Interest Company (CIC) strengthening the creative, digital and tech economy through community, collaboration and trusted insight.

Why We Started

The East Midlands is home to thousands of creative, digital and tech businesses, freelancers, academics and innovators.

Yet too often, talented people, organisations and opportunities operate in isolation.

COLLECTIVE. was created to bring these worlds closer together.

Launched as a pilot programme in 2024 with support from Nottingham Trent University, COLLECTIVE. began as a series of conversations designed to connect people, share knowledge and create new opportunities across the region.

The response was immediate.

New collaborations formed, partnerships emerged and a growing community began to take shape.

Today, COLLECTIVE. operates as an independent CIC, connecting people, strengthening relationships and helping raise the visibility, confidence and influence of the East Midlands creative, digital and tech economy.

What We Believe

Collaboration creates opportunity.

The strongest ideas emerge when different people, disciplines and perspectives come together.

Connection drives growth.

Relationships sit at the heart of innovation, business development and regional success.

The East Midlands deserves greater visibility.

The region is home to exceptional talent, ambitious businesses and world-class ideas that deserve to be seen, celebrated and supported.

See COLLECTIVE. in Action

A short clip from our launch event, capturing the energy, ambition and connections that continue to shape the community today.

Founder & Director

Tamily Cookson

Tamily Cookson is a creative industries strategist, community builder and connector working at the intersection of creativity, innovation and economic development.

Throughout her career she has brought together businesses, universities, local authorities and industry partners to develop programmes, partnerships and opportunities that help creative and digital talent thrive.

In 2024 she founded COLLECTIVE. to strengthen connections across the East Midlands creative, digital and tech economy and create a more visible, collaborative and ambitious future for the region.

Known for challenging convention, spotting opportunities and bringing the right people into the room, Tamily believes the region's greatest strength lies in its people, ideas and willingness to work together.

Looking Ahead

COLLECTIVE. is building a stronger, more connected and more visible creative, digital and tech economy across the East Midlands.

Alongside events and community activity, our work increasingly focuses on insight, collaboration, innovation and advocacy, helping ensure the voices of businesses, freelancers, educators and innovators are represented in conversations about the region's future.

Our ambition is simple:

To make the East Midlands impossible to ignore.