Our story
Who we are.
“CoLab Worcs is a living laboratory for the heart. We believe everyone belongs, and we build that, not just say it. Three practitioners came together with a frustration, an inspiration and a longing to work together. No bosses. Equal power. We listen, decide together and make room for what we don’t yet know.”
How we work
How We Work
Shared power
We work on a flat structure with no bosses and equal power.
Make art, break barriers
Creative expression is our primary language.
Rest is radical
We put self-care first and honour the seasons.
Built with, not for
We hold co-design at the heart of everything we do.
Quiet voices, loud love
We amplify those marginalised by traditional ‘consultation’.
Open door
We stay open to collaborators whose aims fit ours.
Critical friends
We keep people close who tell us hard truths.
“Everyone belongs, and we build that, not just say it.”CoLab Worcs
Who’s behind it
The Team
Katie Collier
Katie is our play specialist. She designs what happens in the room: the sensory exercises, the soundscapes, the mapping and the making. Before CoLab she worked as a deputy headteacher in a London primary school. Her MA research asked the quiet, big question underneath it all: what playtime really means to children.
Leisa Taylor
Leisa is our Forest Therapy practitioner, the one who runs our Rooted sessions. She's a trained community play and youth worker with years of youth and community projects behind her. An activist at heart, she works on social justice, environmental issues and local politics, and she holds the partnerships that keep us part of Worcester.
Al Pagan
Al is our digital creative. Since 2002 his work has ranged widely: whole-school projects that weave every child’s creativity into projected pieces, a maker lab where the young people lead and he follows, and website builds that carry it all online. He likes the work to stay loose and to move between the place, the page and the screen.