Become a member of the Wizu community and discover a workspace that feels like a home-from-home.
At Wizu, the staff are an extension of your own team, they’ll be there to help you any time of the day and will go above and beyond to accommodate your needs.Â
Whether it be sharing a smile with you in the hallway, leaving a welcome gift in your office when you move in, or catching up with you at beer and pizza night - their attitude sets the president for the working environment so everyone feels a part of the Wizu family.Â
Within an instant at Wizu, you'll be made to feel right at home.Â
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Sometimes working from home can feel quite lonely, no matter how many video calls or phone meetings you've got scheduled in the day.Â
Just interacting with like-minded people in a vibrant and uplifting environment can make a huge difference, and this is where the Wizu community goes above and beyond.Â
Founded in 2016 and fuelled by countless cups of Yorkshire Tea, Wizu has been paving the way for flexible workspaces ever since.
With ten centrally located buildings in prime locations, a Wizu workspace boasts community-led environments to make you the most comfortable and productive you can be.
A Wizu workspace is designed to give you the opportunity to network, make friends and find a home-from-home to grow your business. From exclusive Member events to monthly newsletters, there's so much that Wizu does that sets them apart from the rest.Â
Member Events
Whether you're a business in a private office or a member of the co-working community, you're invited to each and every exciting event that Wizu holds in your office location. And the best part? It's all included in your membership.Â
Often collaborating with local businesses, you can expect cocktail masterclasses from popular bars, food events from nearby restaurants and so much more. Who doesn't love a cheeky passionfruit martini on a Tuesday afternoon?Â
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Events take place at least twice a month, often coinciding with events such as Halloween or national days like World Mental Health Day or Cancer Support Coffee Mornings.Â
It's a great opportunity to take your mind off work for an hour or two, relax, network and meet new friends.Â
Member NewsletterÂ
Want to stay up to date with what's going on in the Wizu world? Well luckily for you, as a valid member, you'll be sent a monthly newsletter to help keep you in the know.Â
Included are photos from recent events so you can try to spot yourself, next month's jam-packed events calendar, Wizu company news such as new office openings and any other Wizu member news like current offers and discounts that you can utilise.Â
If this sounds like a workspace community you'd like to be a part of, then you won't have to go far to find yours. With three of the ten locations in Leeds city centre, and four others across the North of England – Wizu currently boast 250,000 sq ft in total of tailor-made workspace and are still growing.Â
Image: Supplied
Fancy trying it out for yourself? Wizu offers a free taster day so you can test out their vibrant co-working spaces for yourself, so you can see which space works the best for you. Simply visit their website to find out more.
The Merrion Centre is set to become the home of an exciting new retail and food destination this summer.
Introducing The Mini Mall, an innovative retail concept designed to create a flagship city-centre destination for local brands, artisan producers and independent food traders.
The new 4,885 sq ft ground-floor space will be completely dedicated entirely to independent Yorkshire brands, artisan producers, and local food creators.
Operating as a premium 'satellite department store', The Mini Mall provides established independent businesses with fully staffed, centrally managed retail bays.
Image: Supplied
Shoppers can expect a carefully curated selection of Yorkshire-based homeware designers, fashion labels, craft producers, and street food vendors under one roof.
The Mini Mall will open on Saturday 25July with an official public grand opening featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony, live brand showcases, and the full launch of the Mini Food Hall.to meet the makers behind the brands.
Shaz Westfield, founder of Eventszo, said: "The Mini Mall was created to give independent businesses the opportunity to trade in a prime city-centre location without the barriers that often come with traditional retail.
“Yorkshire is home to an incredible community of makers, creators and food businesses, and our goal is to provide a platform where they can grow, connect with new customers and thrive. We're delighted to be launching our flagship venue at the Merrion Centre and look forward to building a destination that champions local talent and entrepreneurship."
Charles Newman, asset management director at Town Centre Securities PLC (TCS), owners of The Merrion Centre, said: "What makes the Merrion Centre different is the breadth and character of our occupier mix. We've always championed businesses that bring something unique to the city centre, creating a destination that offers visitors experiences they won't find elsewhere on the high street."
You can find out more about Leeds' new Mini Mall here.
The Yorkshire designer who’s put together the official FIFA World Cup scarf collection
Danny Jones
A Yorkshire-born and bred artist and his creative team have earned the huge honour of creating the official FIFA scarf collection for this year's World Cup.
Nothing short of massive for anyone from our part of the world.
The local legend in question is Tom Pitts, who was born in Sheffield and is now based just beyond Leeds, leading the campaign right from the helm.
Hand Drawn Pixels is a graphic design and digital studio based in Otley, and while you'll see plenty of folks wearing football shirts and even the odd scarf on the town's famous pub crawl, these lot are venturing on an entirely different kind of run this summer.
In fact, the work has very much already started, with Tom and co. collaborating directly with FIFA and US manufacturers, Global Scarves, to create the World Cup collection.
With this year's tournament obviously taking place across America, Mexico and Canada, they've joined up with a big LLC, but they describe themselves as "a true English custom scarf company with American parents."
In their words, "We knit scarves for clients all over the world", with a presence both near Leeds and over in Seattle, Washington.
The fixtures themselves kick off next month (England's first game coming against Croatia on 17 June), and so Hand Drawn Pixels have been hard at work meeting the briefs for each of the nations taking part.
Here's a quick breakdown of how the opportunity came about, their vision for the project, and how everything starts for them as a whole process.
You can see more of their work HERE, but as the brand name would suggest, it's pretty simple to begin with: nothing more than a pencil.
It's worth noting that the 2026 World Cup also featured the largest number of teams in the competition's history: 48 qualified national squads, to be exact. So, technically, they've had even more designing to do than they theoretically would have in any of the previous years, too.
Tom confessed that winning this bid is obviously a big deal on its own and that seeing his creations being worn in person by supporters at the stadiums will be a "surreal" experience.
Speaking exclusively with The Hoot, he said: "It’s been an amazing creative challenge for us to truly reflect the individuality and diversity of the nations competing in this prestigious tournament on such an iconic product as the football scarf."
He went on to add that "the whole project has been a huge learning experience, gaining deeper cultural insight into every nation involved."
We can't wait to cast eyes upon a sea of colour and finely crafted fabric in unique but somehow universally familiar patterns, all designed right here in 'God's Own Country'.
Clementine Hall -
5th December 2023 
