27 Nov

Why we’re going On the Grid

e love Leeds. Our HQ is based in the city and we’re rightly proud of the great range of ‘must-visit’ destinations right on our doorstep here at Brewery Wharf.

To celebrate this fantastic city, we’ve signed up to become the curators of On the Grid’s Leeds page. In essence, driving awareness of some of Leeds’ best assets.

What’s On the Grid?

On the Grid was first created in Brooklyn, New York by local design agency Hyperakt. It started with one neighbourhood. A collection of all the best places to visit from the people who know the area inside out. Quickly the site grew into a worldwide network of neighbourhoods all created by top-notch designers. All of them were working to participate in one very special collaborative curation project.

The site includes inside scoops from hundreds of cities across the globe, from Amsterdam to Cape Town. So DS.Emotion was flattered to be chosen to put Leeds on the map and share its secrets with the world.

Our role is to discover the very best independent places in the city, take photographs and share our views on our dedicated On the Grid page.

Picking our places

The Leeds team gathered around to select our top places in the area. We knew it wouldn’t be a tricky task to think of 30 places we love, but it was a challenge to whittle them down! We picked a good range of independent places, from shopping destinations, parks and markets to swanky restaurants and the oldest pub in Leeds. Sitting down as a team to discuss our favourite spots showed just how varied the city is. We all nominated different venues, giving each of us a whole new list of places to visit.

Tourists in our own city

Beth, our designer, and Sophie, our copywriter, were sent on a mission to take stunning photographs of our favourite places. Armed with info about On the Grid and ready to make new friends in the city, the pair set off to explore.

Despite working in Leeds, both were surprised by all the hidden gems dotted in and around the centre. We spoke to independent business owners, local people and visitors to find out their views of the city. The Head Bartender at Angelica, one of Leeds’ best bars and restaurants, even talked us through the bar’s new cocktail menu. The menu provides a drinkable reference to Leeds’ heritage and gives a fascinating (and delicious) hint of history from our wonderful city.

Bringing the Leeds On The Grid page to life

The team will be working on uploading our selected photographs and populating our page with all the information you need to know to get a local’s insight into Leeds.

We hope to have the page ready for you to view in early 2019. You can also look out for updates on Instagram and Twitter. Those featured on our On the Grid page will be receiving window stickers as a memento of their accolade. We hope to see the very best places in Leeds displaying their stickers next year too.

What’s your favourite place in town? Let us know and it might end up On the Grid! Similarly, if you’re a Leeds attraction that should be listed, we want to hear from you.