Hello there! Al Parra here, my fellow co-founders and I hope you find your time at BLOQS useful and are available if you would like to share your thoughts. If you are reading this and have never visited us, we are located in Enfield, North London and our doors are open to all.
Over recent months, I have been asked many times over to describe BLOQS and what it is we actually ‘do’.
For me, BLOQS represents more than just a business; it embodies a transformative approach to manufacturing that champions equity, access, and collective prosperity.
For too long, the manufacturing sector in the UK presents daunting challenges. High costs and substantial capital requirements have traditionally gated this industry, making it difficult for small businesses, freelancers, and individual creators to break through.
This not only stifles innovation but also perpetuates an economic model that favours large, well-funded corporations over the small maker, the dreamer, the innovator.
At BLOQS we disrupt this model by offering a shared, pay-as-you-go factory space equipped with £1.3 million worth of state-of-the-art tools and machinery. This platform is not merely a facility; it is a manifesto for economic democracy, a place where the means of production are accessible to all, not just the economically privileged. Our community at BLOQS’ includes individual artists to small and medium enterprises crafting and creating alone and, at times, with each other. Each member benefits from the shared resources and collaborative environment, which significantly reduce the individual financial burdens traditionally associated with manufacturing ventures.
This collective sharing of resources is a practical application of socialist principles—it reduces waste, lowers barriers to entry, and fosters a spirit of cooperation and mutual aid.
Our vision extends beyond just making tools accessible. We are actively working to scale this model, to bring these communal factory spaces to other regions and potentially internationally.
Each new location is carefully researched through feasibility studies, ensuring that we understand and meet the local community’s specific needs, thus reinforcing the local economy and empowering local creators.
This expansion is about proliferating a new philosophy of manufacturing—one that is focusing on community benefit over individual profit, on cooperation over competition.
By democratising access to essential manufacturing capabilities, we empower individuals and communities to innovate, create, and thrive.
Call me delusional but eleven years on, I believe BLOQS can represent a beacon of hope for a fairer, more inclusive economic system where the means of production are democratised, and everyone has the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the collective wealth.
As we look to the future, we are not just planning business expansion; we are laying the groundwork for a broader social movement— a movement towards a world where everyone has the tools they need to succeed and the barriers that divide us are dismantled.
Here in the heart of north London, surrounded by construction works and promises of regeneration, our BLOQS community has laid down roots and sprouted; all from a beacon of communal enterprise and shared opportunity.
I invite each of you to join us in this pivotal journey towards a more equitable industrial future.
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