Kickstarter campaign for Birmingham watch entrepreneur

Dennis creates his business for T1 visa. Birmingham City University graduate has designs on bright future for watch brand after securing latest round of funding through crowdsourcing website.

Dennis Chen, founder of Blenheim London

A Birmingham entrepreneur has launched his latest crowdfunding campaign to support production of his new watch.

Dennis Chen, who studied arts and visual communication at Birmingham City University before graduating with a masters in 2014, is behind watch brand Blenheim London. Launched last year, the Birmingham-based firm currently has three types of watches aimed at different price ranges and this latest bid will fund the middle of the trio - called the Chronomaster Pilot. Mr Chen, who is originally from China, has already surpassed his target of £4,000 by more than £11,000 on the Kickstarter website. He funding from the campaign will be used to support production of the watch and pay for advertising and marketing.

He told the Post: "I started the business after leaving BCU and it's now going really well. 

"I have customers in Denmark and Germany but the US is my main market and in May we launched on Amazon so we can now sell across Europe as they ship to customers on my behalf which can save on overheads.

"I run the business as e-commerce and the parts are manufactured in Switzerland, Japan and China. "

"I have already run two successful campaigns on Kickstarter to support the lower and upper end versions of my watch so now I'm focussing on the middle of the range. "

"I also plan to launch two more crowdfunding campaigns in the near future to create another watch for the lower end and also a diver's watch with smart technology."

He is also hoping to have his watches in stores such as John Lewis and Selfridges before next Valentine's Day.

via: http://goo.gl/5s52zQ

BCU的國際學生王蓓蓓拿T1畢業生簽證順利在英國創業!

各位國際學生是否在學業結束前，都在苦惱說怎麼在英國有合法的身分，又可以有一份工作呢? 除了找別人給的工作，其實你自己也可以創造工作機會唷!

BCU提供Tier 1 (畢業生創業簽證) 的計劃，這項計劃就是用來幫助國際學生在英國有合法身份創業，一次申請可以長達12個月，最多到2年，目前已經有一百多位申請成功的案例呢!

本文的例子, 就是來自中國深圳的歌劇女高音王蓓蓓，自2012年從伯明翰音樂學院碩士畢業後，申​​請了這項T1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa簽證，開創了自己的事業: East-WestArts Initiative，這間公司的目標就是透過藝術管理、宣傳、和巡迴演出歌劇製作的方式，讓更多古典音樂家可以獲得更多觀眾的欣賞。

在2016年7月22日在Cadogan Hall 演出的普契尼—蝴蝶夫人，就是王蓓蓓的公司一手策劃，結合了來自各國家的國際歌手們，由倫敦國際交響樂團(LondonInternational Sinfonia) 一同演出，而她本人也在歌劇中，擔任女主角的角色。

如今王蓓蓓已順利延長1年的畢業生創業簽證，希望繼續為更多音樂表演者，在英國創造更多交流的機會呢!

很多英國學校為畢業生提供Tier 1畢業生簽證計劃，既可以讓國際學生合法延長留在英國的時間，又可以為自己的理想努力，開創不同的未來，各位國際學生加油~~

想要了解更多關於T1 Visa 可於下禮拜三8月10日參加 "Opportunities in the UK" 活動

免費報名: http://gethireduk.eventbrite.co.uk
時間: 10th August from 14:00-18:00
地點: C502&c503, The Curzon Building, Birmingham, B4 7BD

以下我們欣賞一些王蓓蓓在英國的精彩演出吧!

via: http://goo.gl/pY0wcV,  https://goo.gl/j10N90

[T1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa] Chinese graduate entrepreneur hitting all the right notes

An organisation set up by a graduate entrepreneur to help musicians bridge the gap between their education and a career is now bringing an opera classic to the stage in London, with a cast made up from the artists it has helped develop.

Operatic soprano Beibei Wang, from Shenzhen in China, graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University, with an MA in Music in 2012.

Since then, Beibei has set up her own organisation called East-West Arts Initiative, which aims to introduce classical musicians to wider audiences through artist management, promotions and touring opera productions.

As the name suggests, her Initiative also provides a conduit for artists who are wishing to develop their career more widely abroad, especially between China and the UK – echoing Beibei’s own heritage and where she is now based.

As part of East-West Arts Initiative, Beibei is actively discovering new markets for singers, by introducing western singers into China and ensuring Chinese performers are receiving exposure in the UK.

Now the organisation she set up is presenting Puccini’s ‘Madama Butterfly’ in Cadogan Hall on Friday 22 July, with Beibei joined by a cast of international singers trained at various UK conservatoires and accompanied by the London International Sinfonia.

The upcoming production features over 40 young, talented international singers and instrumental musicians, stage settings and costumes designed by staff and alumni from London Central St Martin, and principal music coaching by a young conductor from the Royal Opera House. All in all, this is a fantastic combination for us as performers, as well as for the audience coming to experience it – I am so looking forward to it.Beibei Wang

Beibei will perform as Cio-Cio-San in the story of the Japanese Geisha girl, who is bought and then abandoned by an American naval lieutenant. The production is directed by Harry Burton and conducted by Peter Knapp, who has had a long experience of presenting opera on the stages of London concert halls, as well as in major theatres throughout the UK and France. 

Beibei has been endorsed by Birmingham City University to remain in the UK following her education as part of the Government’s Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa programme. It allows international students to remain in the UK for up to two years to set-up and run a business upon graduation. 

Beibei has completed the first year of the visa and the University has recently renewed this for an additional 12 months because of her success so far on the programme. 

She will next apply for a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa to continue growing her Initiative at the end of her two years as a graduate entrepreneur.

Beibei is a charming individual, as well as inspiring other international students at Birmingham City University by highlighting that, on completing academic studies, you can remain in the UK to set-up and run an enterprise.Richard Leighton, Enterprise Advisor, Birmingham City University

"Her passion, desire and love for music is infectious and I really admire her ability to use performances to create intercultural relations that strengthen links and bonds between continents, nations and nationalities.

"She is a privilege to support and we are all honoured at the University to play a small part in her continued success."

To date, East-West Arts Initiative has led and participated in a range of activities within The O2 – the world’s busiest music area – Trafalgar Square and Cadogan Hall.

Beibei added:

"Birmingham Conservatoire is one of the most inspiring institutions I have had the pleasure to be a part of. It has the most friendly atmosphere and I made beautiful memories there. I appreciate Birmingham City University’s sincere support to allow me to explore my dream career in the UK."

Prior to being based in the UK, Beibei completed a bachelor’s degree at Xinghai Conservatory of Music in China, before singing for three years as a soloist with the Shenzhen Musician Association, performing across China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

She continued with her passion for traditional Italian opera where she studied with soprano Maria Luisa Cioni and Nicoletta Zanini at La Scala in Milan.

After securing a scholarship to study at Birmingham Conservatoire in 2012, Beibei gained her Postgraduate Diploma in Solo Performance with distinction at the Royal Northern College of Music before studying for an Artist Diploma at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance under the tuition of Peter Knapp.

After running ‘Madama Butterfly’ in London, Beibei hopes to bring the show to Birmingham and Manchester.

You can know more detail in "Opportunities in the UK" event

Registration for the event http://gethireduk.eventbrite.co.uk
Date: 10th August from 14:00-18:00
Venue: C502&c503, The Curzon Building, Birmingham, B4 7BD

via: http://www.bcu.ac.uk/news-events/news/madama-butterfly