Delay delays delays...

So, you wait ages for a new developer and two come along at once! Hello and welcome to 2008! It sure has been a while since I last tapped any characters out here and I can honestly say that it is great to be back.

To update date you, the reason why Jonny and I have been so silent is because we have been so disheartened with the state of the Mesh website. At times over the last three months, we have even considered throwing in the towel due to the unbelievable amounts of stress that the Mesh venture was causing us. Imagine the scenario of dealing with a developer who never returns your calls (the worst stint being ten straight days of no contact and us having to turn up at his door to confront him) whilst trying to build your community, add value to your members and organise events at exclusive venues to "celebrate" the release of the website out of its beta phase. On top of all that, having increasingly stressful day jobs as lawyers in the beautiful rat-race centre of the world, London, has made for a pretty sticky start to the year.

Of course, some may cry that it is partly our fault for hatching such an idiotic plan as to build a trusted collaborative network whilst attempting to hold down intense day jobs. However, this just shows how much we are completely dedicated to the cause and the concept and we believe (even despite the dark days of doubt that we have lived through) more than ever that we can make a difference to the way that the arts and business worlds connect, communicate and collaborate.

Whilst the online angst has been at terrorising our souls, we have been hard at work meeting a range of deeply cool and eclectically inspiring Mesh members who are keen to help us move Mesh forward. Just a small selection of the highlights...

• Director of the Rochelle School, Anthony Bennett has provided much support and inspiration to us and even invited the Mesh Executive Committee to host its monthly meetings at the beautiful venue.
• Seasoned promoter of club night, Mulletover, Rob Star fascinated me with his move from a career with a pharmaceutical company to a promoter and now to a public house landlord. His new venue, The Star of Bethnal Green throws open its doors this weekend and it looks set to breathe new life into the area.
• Multi-talented hedge fund analyst manager Suneil Setiya had me reaching for my air guitar just last month when he launched his rock edged menswear collection, Rococo along with designer Angel Nokonoka.
• Director of Eudemonic, a unique company pioneering creativity, play and imagination, Andres Roberts, set my mind racing when he described the concept of developing 'Creative Change' - the use of creativity to make deeper and better change happen. It was wonderful to hear Andres explain that creative fields provide the tools, the language and the mediums that truly inspire people and organisations.
• Professional connecter and Director of the Word of Mouse network, Andy Lopata, has been a superb supporter of Mesh and we have been meeting to discuss the ups and downs of starting up networks.
• Truly talented and impressive professional photographers, Mark McEvoy, Simon Warren, Fiona Campbell and Toby Smith have been knocking my creative socks off with their beautiful images. They span a range of different focuses, subject matters and projects so it has been a real journey for my eyes to discover their work.
• Speaking all night long with the beautiful Mak Gilchrist (amongst other brilliant accolades, the lip licking 'bass player' in the Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" video and previously, the face of Yves Saint Laurent make-up), allowed me to go on a magical journey through her life as a young model in the 1980's up to now as a keen promoter of the artwork of her talented husband, Agamemnon Otero.
• Working with us on our next event on 17th April 2008 at Shoreditch House is Ric Blackshaw – Director of the Scrawl Collective. Having started out writing a book about street art, Ric started the Collective in 1998 to represent three upcoming artists - Steff Plaetz, Will Barras and Mr Jago – and it has now grown to more than eight-fold and has worked with clients as diverse as Sony Music, Levi’s and Virgin Mobile. Amazing.

Join requests keep flooding in but we have not been able to let anyone onto the site since January due to the development issues. We cannot wait to re-open the floodgates to get new members meshed with the current highly inspirational crowd. Waiting in the wings are award-winning fashion designers, film makers, writers and a wealth of creatively passionate lawyers, bankers and accountants who are all keen to collaborate and share their creative or commercial advice. Once we are out of beta, I think I might intoxicate myself with the coolness of it all.