Profile
SUPPLIER FOCUS
Solutions2
ALTERNATIVE VENUE
Hinterlands Liverpool
Co-owner Marija Erzen
on valuing the work of
creative teams, balancing
work and family and
minimising event waste
What’s one thing you would change about the
events industry?
The one thing I would really like to change is the
practice of providing our designs within a tender
or procurement process free of charge. We have an
extremely talented creative team and I think we
undervalue them by not charging for their services.
It is up to all of us to change this practise and for
clients to build in to their budgets the cost of the
creativity that makes live events great.
What issue most affects your working life?
As any working parent knows, there is a constant
battle to balance home life with work life, so time is
the biggest issue. Being the co-owner of a business
means in some ways I am in a better position to find
this balance, but Solutions2 is such a big part of who
I am that I rarely get to completely leave it behind.
Recently I have been researching the potential
benefits of a four-day working week but in reality,
as much as I would like to implement this, I don’t
think it is right for the size of our company, our
industry or our customers.
How has your business changed over the past
five years?
The biggest change which as an industry
we certainly don’t have all the answers to is
sustainability. Being creative while minimising
the waste this inevitably produces is an ongoing
challenge and one we cannot ignore.
Why do you enjoy working in events?
Solutions2 is 18 years old in September and not one
of those 6,570 days or any of the days to come have
been or will be the same. One of the main things I
take enjoyment from is the genuine friendships I
have developed over the years with people I have
only met as a result of working in this fast-paced,
diverse, stressful but ultimately rewarding industry!
Raw, industrial and innovative, Hinterlands is a
unique new venue for the city of Liverpool
Tell us about the venue
Hinterlands is the second venue in the Greenland Venue
Management portfolio. It was through our first adventure,
Constellations, that we observed a trend emerging wherein
event agencies and the brands they represent are looking for
something a little more unusual.
Abandoning traditional approaches can stimulate
innovation and creativity – something seen more commonly
in some of today’s most successful businesses. For events, this
can lead to a refreshing and unexpected experience for both
customer and organiser.
Hinterlands opened in March 2018 with a flurry of tech
conferences, streetwear expos, food & drink festivals,
weddings and art exhibitions. Offering unconventional
originality, every aspect of the venue has been carefully
constructed to amplify and accentuate the building’s
industrial characteristics; from its vaulted ceilings to its
exposed steel structure. Technology also plays a big part in the
venue’s design, connecting each visitor’s physical and digital
experience. The venue is furnished with Hyperoptic Wi-Fi,
made accessible to every customer.
With 10,000sqft to play with, Hinterlands is a complete
blank canvas for event organisers to bring to life.
We are proud to work alongside a range of Merseyside’s best
and most innovative suppliers. The award-winning MSP are
a close ally and know our venue inside and out. Recently, we
have partnered with Relish Catering, who have just completed
the installation of a fully fitted kitchen into our Annex space.
The name Hinterlands derives from an area lying beyond
what is visible or known. This ethos of providing unexpected
events in a blank canvas venue permeates through all that we
have achieved so far and strive to achieve in the future. Our
events delivery team have an award-winning track record of
working alongside organisers, brands and businesses.
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