JOOP* Club

*joy of other people

If you quite like the idea of community-maxxing but the thought of mingling and chatting to strangers also makes you want to hide by leaping into the nearest candle-lit bath, then JOOP Club might be the place for you.

 Humans are meant to hang out together. That’s why we invented board games, pubs and big bags of crisps. And it’s why loneliness can feel so painful.

Hanging out together in real life is good for us. It’s good for our mental health and it’s helpful for getting things done. But sometimes it can feel quite difficult to make it actually happen. Especially if you’ve just moved to a new town or all your friends are constantly busy or you’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with life stuff. It’s no wonder JOMO felt so appealing for a while…

But if you’re starting to miss other people now and you’re fed up of all the hate noise out there and you’d really like the world to be a much nicer place please, then you probably also know it’s worth getting more involved in your local community.

Word keeps coming in time and time again that creating stronger communities is one of the best ways we can improve our mental health and fight back against those who want to scare and divide us.

But getting together with people we don’t know very well can be pretty scary… Especially if it was the thought of small talk that threw us into the arms of JOMO in the first place. And it’s with this in mind, that JOOP Club was set up.

Because JOOP Club aims to make the whole daunting process - of making new friends, thinking of something ‘not weird’ to say and getting more involved in our local communities - as easy, painfree and, daresay, as fun as possible…

We have a JOOP Club hangout every first Saturday of the month in Printers Playhouse, your favourite local community theatre art space, where you can come chill, chat and create community. See below for what kind of things will be happening then…

We also have a weekly updated Events Listing Page for other local creative and well-being activities taking place in the community so you can easily find something that suits your interests and tastes each week. Hopefully there’s something in there for everyone and if not, why not tell us or talk to us about setting up one yourself and we’ll help you spread the word.

Come find and follow JOOP Club on Instagram too to stay up to date with all the latest events and developments and the other humans we think could be celebrated a bit more.

JOOP Boxes

Hate small talk? Find it stressful to start conversations with strangers face to face?

Come to one of our hangouts at Printers, pull up a chair and join any table and try out one of our JOOP Boxes.

They’re like one of those play-packs that restaurants provide for children to keep them happy... Only ours is for grown-ups.

Thoughtfully designed to help you digital-detox for a couple of hours, make new friends and connect with your people.

Our vintage boxes all come with colouring-in pictures or paper to draw and write a poem on, along with some helpful question prompts to take the pressure off and help steer the conversation into something deeper and more meaningful (well, not always. Some of the questions are just plain daft actually). Some boxes even come with a toy to play with too :)

So come along, alone or with a mate, let go of your stressful week and just enjoy, chill and chat to some lovely people. It really is that deep.

First Saturday afternoon of every month at Printers, Grove Road, Eastbourne.

JOOP Flea-Market

Come and browse the specially curated JOOP Flea-market and treat yourself to a unique bargain!

There will be stalls selling affordable artwork, quirky curated vintage and upcycled craftswork.

Good art makes us feel seen and heard. It connects us to each other because it makes us feel we’re not alone in our feelings and experiences. So come and support an artist. We need them more than ever!

And if you’d like your very own JOOP Box to take home or as a random Christmas present for your favourite family member, there are Joop Boxes here for sale at a whole range of prices too. Each one is different and unique and a piece of special artwork in its own right. Some have been ‘found’. Others have been specially designed by a guest artist. And some are part of a special edition limited run. Between you and me, I expect they’ll all be collector’s items one day :)

First Saturday of every month upstairs at Printers Playhouse, Grove Road, Eastbourne.

If you’re an artist or musician or storyteller who would like a table or to get involved in some other way, don’t hesitate to get in touch…

JOOP Exchange Board

As a culture, we’re not very good at asking for help. But if we’re going to build strong communities, we need to get over all this baked-in fear and shame towards reaching out, because it’s not helping us. It’s just keeping us constantly overwhelmed, exhausted and isolated.

The JOOP Exchange is a way of normalising asking for help and giving it back. It’s reframing things so we see help as a gift that we can keep moving and passing on among us.

And you wouldn’t turn down a gift would you? That’d be rude!

Here at the JOOP Exhange, you can volunteer your time and skills in exchange for help and support with something you need.

So come along to a JOOP Club session and see how you can get involved with ‘keeping the gift moving’.

First Saturday of every month at Printers Playhouse, Grove Road, Eastbourne