The Social Bean Café & Emporium, a new social venture opening at the Belconnen Community Centre this Thursday, is the “missing puzzle piece” for the Daydream Machine, an award-winning creative studio for neurodivergent youth, founder (and 2022 ACT Local Hero of the Year) Luke Ferguson says.

The Daydream Machine is one of 20 local businesses and artisans that will sell their wares at the Social Bean, described by Heidi Prowse OAM, executive manager of Capital Region Community Services, which runs the Centre, as “more than a café: it’s a community-centric hub committed to building connections, supporting local artisans, and promoting sustainability.”

Mr Ferguson’s students make designer jewellery (Greens MLA Emma Davidson can often be seen wearing their PacMan or mushroom earrings), T-shirts, greeting cards, digital art, calendars, sculptures, mugs and more. Some of the artists are only eight, but are already being paid commissions.

So far, the students’ artworks have been sold at expos at their studios, or art shows at the Belconnen Community Centre earlier this year. Mr Ferguson has spent this year trying to work out how to showcase some of the kids’ work outside those shows. He had toyed with the idea of setting up a shopfront at the studio in Fyshwick – but someone would have to staff it over the weekend.

“Setting up [the shopfront] at the Social Bean Café and Emporium is great,” Mr Ferguson said. “It’s perfect for us. In this way, we can direct people all year round to the Emporium, which is really exciting.”

Other organisations featured include SiTara’s Story, a charity supporting Bangladeshi women, and Darkies Design, an independent clothing label, founded by Dion Devow, 2018 ACT Australian of the Year.

The Daydream Machine put dibs on the front window space. It has a massive blank wall which will display a lot of the students’ art, while each youngster will have a cubbyhole where they can set up their own merchandise.

“We’re encouraging them to explore [their passion] and run with it and see how far we can take it,” Mr Ferguson said.

“We’re providing an opportunity for them to make some money out of doing what they love. The money is just a bonus in some way. It’s giving the students a way to express their talents and showcase it to the wider community. You can just see the self-belief and confidence growing in all of the students. It’s great!”

Capital Region Community Services will take sales from the Daydream Machine and other stalls, and charge what Ms Prowse called an “incredibly low” 15 per cent commission on all the artworks sold. All proceeds will be used to run events, workshops and activities.

“It’s a really fair arrangement,” Mr Ferguson said. “Our kids keep the profits from the sale … It’s a good incentive. And it means we don’t have to man the stores ourselves.” Although some students are keen to pop in on weekends, restock their items, and spruik their wares.

Many of the Daydream Machine kids will reinvest their money into home studios, so they can continue to pursue their art.

“We’re trying to create career pathways for a lot of these young people who are incredibly talented but may not have had the opportunity to showcase what they were doing in the past,” Mr Ferguson said.

The Social Bean Café & Emporium will officially open this Thursday evening. To mark the occasion, Her Kitchen Table, a meal delivery service run by migrant and refugee women, will “cook up a storm” of recipes handed down through the generations – including Fijian and Indian cuisines.

“You go on a journey with the meal artists from the diverse backgrounds that they come from,” Ms Prowse said. “You never know what you might get. But it’s definitely going to be delicious. And it’s cooked with love!”

Ms Prowse hopes to host Her Kitchen Table on a regular basis.

The Social Bean will also host repair and recycle activities, such as turning old clothes into new items.

The Social Bean will open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Ms Prowse hopes volunteers will help to keep it open on weekends. She has put out a call for volunteers “who would like to help us with this incredible social venture that’s supporting the community.”

Social Bean Café & Emporium, 23 Swanson Court, Belconnen. Opening: Thursday 30 November 4pm-10pm.

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