Target reached!
This will help us to buy more equipment for the new space. For instance our two pugm...
Clayspace is moving
Margate, Kent, United Kingdom
Aim
Help Clayspace make our new building a more welcoming, accessible, energy efficient and sustainable studio to benefit the whole community
Clayspace needs your help
We need your help to create a new welcoming, accessible, more energy efficient and sustainable studio to benefit the whole community.
After seven years operating as a not-for-profit social enterprise in Cliftonville, we have found a fantastic new studio space just around the corner that will help us and the Clayspace family thrive and grow, but it needs some love.
The new building is a real beauty, in a perfect location and the rent is affordable.
Originally a bakery, the space has been a garage for at least 30 years and is very basic inside. We need to upgrade the interior of the building to make it an attractive, welcoming and accessible space, and to make it as sustainable and energy efficient as possible.
We’ll keep the same happy friendly vibe in the studio, but we’ll have a bigger space which is all on the same level and so much easier, more accessible and safer for everyone to work and move about in.
There’s room for a wheelchair accessible toilet and plenty of space in the studio for people with limited mobility to get comfortable and creative.
The studio is set back from the street, and around the corner from the Northdown Road, it’s so much quieter and it has much safer access. There’s also space outside for a car or minibus to drop off or pick up, which is so much more convenient and of course safer than the busy main road we’re currently on. School groups can be dropped off directly outside and anybody struggling with boxes of pots won’t have to risk parking on the kerb or miles away from the studio.
We’ll be able to house the kilns in the studio space, making full use of the residual heat produced, reducing our carbon footprint and saving on our heating bills too.
The potters’ wheels can all be positioned together in a block, making for a more sociable vibe and easier communication when people are learning to throw.
What your money will help us do:
- Fully insulate the floor, walls and ceiling
- Put down sturdy moppable flooring
- Install a wheelchair accessible toilet
- Create a glass partition at the front of the studio to let light in and to retain the heat in the studio when the main sliding front door is open
- Wire in the kilns and install venting
- Wiring and installation of energy efficient LED lights to make the studio bright and easy to work in
- Install emergency exit lighting
- Install a heating system
- Upgrade the very basic kitchen area and install a washer and dryer for aprons and studio cloths, and alter the plumbing as necessary
- Build more work tables and benches
- Install shelving and storage
- Create clay, water and glaze recycling areas.
- Buy a pallet truck to safely move kilns and clay pallets
- Make some movable screens to be able to create quiet areas as needed, so that the space is fully flexible and adaptable.
About the team
Clayspace was dreamt up by Ian Parsons and Bridget McVey. We always wanted to live by the sea, and the minute we came to Margate for the weekend in 2014 we knew we had found the perfect place to set up our home and studio.
Violet Shaw came to the first classes we ran in Margate, by the time the pandemic came Violet was an essential part of the team and we’re so happy that now she’s also a director. The three of us cooked up plans over cups of tea and cheese toasties and our friendship and respect is at the heart of the Clayspace vibe.
We’ve been very lucky over the years to have some incredible tutors sharing their ceramics skills, passion and knowledge with the Clayspace customers, this last year we have had 8 wonderful part time teaching staff helping people make some really beautiful work.
We also have the indispensable Andy Potter helping us out with clay recycling, making ridiculously good sculptures and keeping us all laughing. He single-handedly raised the money to buy us a potters’ wheel a few years ago and he’ll be fully involved with this fundraiser too.
Who we work with
We have worked with many schools in Thanet, including St Anthony’s, Bradstow, Palm Bay Primary, and Drapers Mills.
We have also run workshops with The Turner Gallery, Open School East, Resort Studios, The Garden Gate Project, Ageless Thanet, East Kent Mencap, Ethelbert Children's services, Canterbury Cathedral, Powell-Cotton Museum, Pilgrims hospice and Margate Pride to name but a few.
Community impact
Better and safer access in the new building will allow us to reach members of the community who would not have been able to use the previous studio.
We want this to continue to be a safe space that encourages a feeling of ownership, breaks down barriers between people and offers them support, companionship and a sense of purpose.
Community-based engagement impacts so positively on wellbeing and reinforces resilience amid difficult times. This all combats loneliness and isolation.
Working creatively with clay has been proven to be therapeutic and we want to offer the benefits of that to the whole community.
When we’ll open
We start to pay rent on the new building from the 1st of December and so the sooner we can move in the better! By the time you’re reading this we will have made a start on clearing out the space, ripping out old wiring and opening up some of the blocked off windows. We’ll hope to open in January, but if it takes a bit longer we’ll be continuing to run classes in the original building for as long as we can.
What we’ll offer
You might already be a member of the Clayspace family, in which case you’ll be excited to learn we’ll be able to expand our classes and workshops, offering a variety of new classes and courses, as well as continuing with our popular Introduction to Ceramics courses and our Casual sessions. We’re listening to what you’ve been asking us for and we’re offering an Introduction to Glaze Making course as one of our rewards too.
How you can play your part
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us! Use the button on our page to get started. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details, just a fun idea!
Rewards
This project successfully funded on 13th December 2022