NatWest Bring it 2020 has provided £50 of match funding
The Making Place: Crafting & Creating for Everyone
Birchanger, England, United Kingdom
Aim
I provide space and instruction for adults and children to learn new crafts, develop knowledge and abilities and meet in a safe environment.
Craft and Create?
Or Create and Craft?
That was a difficult choice to make for the logo tagline I was creating. Bishop’s Stortford seems to have its fair share of creatives and quite a few crafters, but I wanted to set up a place for them all to be able to work on projects, to come and learn new things and also share their advice and experiences.
There has been a rise in creativity across the UK over the last few years, with the release of TV programmes such as The Great British Bake Off and The Great British Sewing Bee. ‘Vintage’, ‘upcycled’ and ‘handmade’ are more commonplace these days, with changing fashion and everyone’s awareness of environmental issues. Take something old, possibly broken, and turn it into something else; something new, something unique.
Something nobody else has.
Make a birthday card, knit a scarf, encourage little ones to draw a picture for someone.
Something nobody else has.
Everyone is welcome. Mums with extra time on their hands, now little ones are out of the house, can come and chat, and maybe learn how to use the sewing machine in the loft. Or those who want a hot cuppa can bring their pre-school children for some drawing or sticking.
Grandparents with an untapped creative flair can come and draw or paint.
Children can come and make their own decorations for Hallowe’en or Christmas, or birthday gifts for loved ones. They can come to after-school craft club to express their creative side for an hour (and get a biscuit!).
The lonely, socially troubled or those suffering from mental health issues can have a safe space to chat (or not), craft and find a distraction in this ever-busier world.
I’ve been crafting since I was small, although I’m not very imaginative. Give me a recipe, sewing pattern or set of instructions and I will put my heart and soul into creating something special. I have tried my hand at most things, from simple hand lettering to ornate beading, through sewing clothes and gifts and round to paper cutting. I’ve made clothes for my family, gifts for my son’s Summer and Christmas school fayres and now it’s time I branch out from my conservatory!*
So, from the beginning of October 2019, I have been renting a section of a retail unit in Bishop’s Stortford, opposite the refuse disposal site (tip or dump, to you and me!). Come and have a look, have a cuppa and a biscuit, and maybe even learn something new.
*It gets very hot in the summer!
This project successfully funded on 21st April 2020