Getting to Know Karen Cartwright & Hina Shah

Last year I started a segment that involved Croydon individuals and feeding their answers straight to you, which will now be referred to as ‘Getting to Know’.  This time I’m interviewing two amazing women behind one of Croydon’s most exciting events venues.

Names: Karen Cartwright & Hina Shah

Live in: South End (Karen) & Sanderstead (Hina)

Occupation: Founders and Owners of Beanies & Project B

Q: How did the idea of Beanies come about?

A: We wanted somewhere to take our young children where we could relax and enjoy a nice coffee, and they could play safely and nearby.  There wasn't anything like that in Croydon so we created Beanies.

Q: What is the inspiration behind Project B?

A: We wanted somewhere to celebrate Hina's 40th birthday and we couldn't find anywhere that we liked!  So we created this venue that looked cool and specialised in great events!  We knew we were good at event management and we were not averse to partying ourselves so we combined the two to create great parties for others.

Q: What do you think makes Project B special?

A: For us it's all of the people that we get to meet day in day out - creative people wanting to do exciting things at the venue.  Particularly the young people we work with who run promoted events and forums with us, all of whom are dedicated, ambitious, creative, passionate and professional.

Q: What is your favourite thing about Croydon?

A: I like the feeling of optimism that there is out there right now - we meet a lot of small business owners or those about to launch a business and they all say the same - that now is the right time for their business in Croydon.

Q: What do you think could be improved about Croydon?

A: I think local government support for small business, entrepreneurship and creative activities in Croydon is severely lacking.  There has been a lot of local press around this but very little change.  I'd like to see some form of support / incentives for start-ups, [which] doesn't [even] have to be funding.

Q: What is Croydon's best kept secret?

A: Right now I would say the little streetfood market that has appeared over recent weeks at the end of Surrey Street Market.  The choice has grown from Jerk Chicken and great Chinese food to include Polish sausages, Greek wraps, artisan Argentian empanadas...  and the local businesses around that area are great too, with Hoodoos, BRGR & BEER and Viet2Go regularly satisfying our lunchtime needs.

Q: What events in Croydon would you recommend?

A: We have a programme of comedy coming up [at Project B] as part of the Croydon Comedy Festival to look forward to and Beats & Eats return in July, which is always a great night.  We haven’t made it to Lost Format Society’s rooftop yet but we’re looking forward to taking our kids along to the Beats & Eats event there on 25th June.

Q: Describe Croydon in 3 words.

A: Creative, Charismatic, Challenging.

Q: Who would you recommend for a Just Croydon interview?

A: We recently met a very inspiring pair of young entrepreneurs, Kyle and Jason, who have created Justified Kings, which is a programme based around working with young adults in Croydon, empowering them to find their inner king/queen.