The Story
Riónce Arts Club is a private members’ space for founders, creatives, and the inquisitive to find flow, create, explore & connect deeply. We offer studio memberships and a tight-knit community focused on authenticity, growth, and balance.
Rooted in dedication, experimentation, and self-improvement, our club provides the space, tools and network to reach your highest creative potential — guided by Gandhi’s words: “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Riónce is more than just a club, we’re known for our soul-nourishing vibe, the rich experiences we facilitate and the positive ripple effects we make through the hearts of our members in South East London and beyond.
2019 - 2020
Our founder Oleta Semple got her first studio back in 2019 just before the pandemic started. At the time she had been making clothes in her room and the (beautiful) chaos she religiously created began to interfere with her work life balance and sanity. She simply needed more space, so she secured her first studio, and this is where Riónce first began.
The Riónce Founding Quote:
‘Happiness is when
what you think,
what you say
and what you do
are in harmony.’
~ Mahatma Ghandi
2019 - 2020
Riónce Arts Club is a creative private member’s club based in SE London. Our founder Oleta Semple got her first studio back in 2019 just before the pandemic started. At the time she had been making clothes in her room and the (beautiful) chaos she religiously created began to interfere with her work life balance and sanity. She simply needed more space, so she secured her first studio, and this where Riónce first began.
Before Renovation
AFTER Renovation
2020-2021
During this time Oleta spend much of her time making things. She custom made outfits for celebs, which featured on ITV’s Dancing on Ice & Don’t hate the playas, and the notorious Semple ‘Everyday Pouch’ to name a few. She had studied photography at college and though it could be a great idea to hire out the space as a photography studio, during any down time. She did this for a while, but shortly had to close due to the pandemic and all the restrictions that came with it. This however did not stop her!
2021-2022
Oleta was studio-less, which was most disheartening. All her equipment spent a year stacked up in boxes in her loft & home & storage unit in Forrest Hill and she was back to creating things in her bedroom. It was now that she would realise how valuable it was to have a studio and how imperative it was to her creative process and studies at the time.
Having studio wasn’t a want, it was a need. It was a protected space, her special zone, her second home. Oleta spend months searching for a new studio, but found it impossible to secure somewhere as fabulous within her budget with tall ceilings, natural daylight AND hot running water (a studio privilege). This year was utterly catastrophic… Until she was introduced to a couple of girls like her who too needed a space to base their creative practice.
2022-2023
After some months of sharing, Oleta took the space on her own and set up Riónce Studio Ladywell - her second home & rental photography studio/ creative space business. It was during this time she would would freelance as a photographer, seamstress, art workshop facilitator and more… until she became severely overwhelmed and figured out she had to change the way she worked before she collapsed.
Introducing ‘Riónce Concierge’! A service that would allow anyone with a creative emergency to ring up/ message and have their project managed and executed with the help of Oleta’s creative team. Oleta was already a load of people’s first point of contact for any creative project, so this next step was only natural.
Before Renovation
2023-2024
Oleta relinquished the title of a ‘multidisciplinary creative’ as it no longer felt aligned and leant more into being a creative director and agent. This was only natural as she had studied (and quit) her degree in Creative direction about a year before.
The Experiences element of the club was developed shortly after this as she wanted a way for her regulars and network to mingle in creative ways, and as if by magic she became acquainted with the owner of Penda Studios Peckham, and the rest was history.
PENDA STUDIOS (PECKHAM)
Today, Riónce Arts Club operates across 4 locations in SE London & Online. The club now has monthly members who value the creative spaces Oleta has curated and therefore pay a special rate each month for regular access. The concierge still exists but is on the back burner for a little while until the studio memberships pick up & the experiences side is fleshed out. Riónce Nights a live music platform is due to launch late 2024 and with other studios are potentially on the cards for 2025. Do yourself a favour and watch this space. It’s only up from here! Oleta x
2024 to present
‘Vision’ is a function of the heart
and our studios are the best place to bring those visions to life.