Founder, lead facilitator and director Tom Mallender

Tom Mallender is a poet and documentarian specializing in the use of archive and found material.
Upon leaving sixth form Tom worked mostly on the family farm and in a local factory, supplementing his income by assisting other local small business when they needed extra labour which saw him work as both a butcher and baker, a candlestick maker, blacksmith, milkman, coalman, and many other jobs. Realising Derbyshire had little in the way of prospects, Tom chose to change the direction of his life and moved to London to study creative writing and psychology.
Tom lives with various complex issues including being parity deaf (surgery as a child resorted 50% of his hearing), he is severely dyslexic, has dyspraxia and other associated developmental disorders which massively impacted his time at school and college.  As an adult he lives with various chronic health conditions and is also the main carer for his wife whom, has various quite complex care needs. These lived experiences inform and influence the way in which Tom works and how he engages with those he works with.

Co-director and facilitator Naino Masindet