Done and dusted (almost!)

Well, we made it! I wasn't sure, even up until Friday afternoon that we would do it but with a little help from my friends we were ready for our party on Friday and the official opening on Saturday. There is still a little work to do, mostly in the workshop area where we ended up bunging stuff in every available gap!

This is the sewing machine room, with our Brother sewing and embroidery machines and Babylock Embellisher. You may spot a few cardboard boxes hidden under the tables, but they will be gone soon:

This is the mixed media area with pictures taken from different angles:

Here is my corner, where I will be demonstrating and hopefully finding time to do my own work. Still a lot of tidying and sorting to do here:

The workshop space still needs a little work. The kitchen is not quite finished and there is still more sorting and tidying to do:

I've placed the buttons, ribbon and machine threads together, but I'm not sure if they will stay there - I'll see how it works:

This is the needlecraft corner. I just about managed to squeeze everything but I'm not sure if there is quite enough room. This area may well change:

Here is the view into the shop from the sewing machine room:

And lastly, the gallery, which is now called Alchemy:

So, we got there in the end. I hope you have enjoyed following our exploits over the last few weeks. We had a great opening weekend, with lots of you coming to see the studio for yourself. 

Thanks to Craig De Souza, Executive Director of AFCIUK who was kind enough to open our new Alchemy Gallery on Friday evening, and to Mr X Stitch, Jamie Chalmers (above), who opened the shop for us on Saturday. Thanks also to everyone who helped make this extension possible (this is beginning to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech!), from my wonderful husband Ray, to the crew from Barleylands who did most of the decorating and wall moving, not forgetting Addy from Rowan who told me when to stop.

See you in the studio soon.

Denise

Things get worse before they get better!

While I was away in Budapest, things seemed to move quite rapidly. Ray and my granddaughter Emily were in charge, and got an awful lot done.

This is Studio 50, which used to be the gallery and is now home to our Brother sewing machines and Babylock Embellisher. We needed to get this room ready for our Machine Embroidery Skills session on Sunday 2nd July and they both did a great job!

This is Studio 51 from what will be my working area. Ray and Emily managed to get some of my shelving and workshop supplies in place:

Studio 48 is the one I am giving up, so everything needs to be removed. 

I'm not used to seeing this space quite so tidy! Things however, don't stay quite so neat.There is an awful lot of stuff to accommodate into the new space, and it has to go somewhere until it is sorted. The problem with my being away for a week was that I couldn't go through everything before it was moved, and there is now a mammoth job ahead of me!

We worked all day and late into the evening on Monday to start moving the stock and the rest of my stuff into 51 as work will start on putting the door back between 48 and 49 today, then the decoration and prepration of our new Gallery space will take place. All I have to do for that is choose the paint and finalise the new name for the gallery.

Work has started on the gallery.

It will all be done before our opening weekend (either that or hidden away to be sorted at a later date!)

More soon.

Denise

Nearly there....

Dean and the boys from Barleylands have finished most of the internal work in Studio 51, so now it's down to Ray to lay the carpet tiles and then we can start to move everything across from 48 and 49.

From the door looking towards my workstation

The view from where the counter will be

The shop area

The workshop area

It will still be a few weeks before everything is completely finished, but we have a deadline of 14th July as our official opening will be that weekend - it WILL all be done by then!

Denise

Getting on...

The work on our new studio is beginning to come together. All the internal walls have now been removed and the holes filled. Chris and Dean have been working very hard over the last few days and everything should be completed very soon.

This is the view of what will be the workshop area, looking down to where the sinks will be.

This shows the retail area from where the counter and till will be, looking towards where my workstation will be.

A similar view, but from the door.

From my workstation to the door, this will be where most of my stock will be. The door (covered in black plastic at the moment) is the way through to the Sewing Machine room in Studio 50 and on through to the new gallery.

Ray and I did a bit of shopping in Ikea on Monday, but we will probably need a couple more trips to get everything (including a new parcel shelf for the car, but that's another story!). On a project like this, nothing is set in stone, and the plans are continually evolving. I was going to have a coffee station in the sewing machine studio, but that seems to be growing into a second kitchen! I've ordered the new carpet tiles to replace the grotty red carpet and they should be arriving later this week - another job for Ray!

Our opening celebrations will be on Saturday and Sunday 15th and 16th July - we are currently arranging the programme, so look out for more news soon.

Denise

And so it begins....

Things are finally starting to happen! The door between Studio 50 and 51 will be made later this week, which means that we are starting to pack things up ready to move and also to protect things from the dust which, from past experience, I know will get everywhere.

Don't forget that we are staying open througout the process, so do drop by to see how we are getting on. 

It does mean that Gallery 50 is now out of commission, as we are using that for temporary storage. It will all go into Studio 48 soon though, so that the door can be done, but not before our last workshop on Thursday which is being run by Alex Waylett. After that it will be all go. I've been busy ordering fixtures and fittings for the new areas in the last few days - it's scary how the costs mount up so quickly, but all within budget so far!

Next on the shopping list are more kitchen cabinets and a trip to Ikea for display units! I also have to choose new floor tiles.

Denise

Yarn Shop Day 2017

On the 6th May 2017, the fourth annual Yarn Shop Day will take place in craft stores across the country, and Craft Arena is just one of the many shops that is excited to be involved. The event has been organised by UK leading magazines Let's Knit and Let's Get Crafting in a bid to celebrate Britain's much-loved independent wool shops.

At Craft Arena we are making it Yarn Shop Weekend and making the most of it by having wooly fun on both Saturday and Sunday. We are hosting a number of events for those who crochet and/or knit and have special offers, give-aways, a tombola and charity Knit-a-Thon. There will also be a special Rowan display and we will be featuring our range of knitting and crochet books.

On Saturday we will be holding crochet classes for beginners and intermediate learners. These have proved very popular and have filled up really quickly. We are raising money for St Luke's Hospice in Basildon with a tombola which has lots of yarn related prizes on offer and runs over both days. 

Kaffe Fassett Knit a long

Debbie Bliss Knit a long

We have free patterns to give away for Debbie Bliss and Kaffe Fassett knit-a-longs as well as a number of other freebies. There will be a display of Rowan garments and yarn, knitting and crochet books. We are also holding a tombola in aid of St. Luke's Hospice, which will include lots of knitting and crochet related goodies, with tickets available all weekend.

We are holding a charity event in aid of St. Luke's Hospice over the weekend. Come along and knit a row, or as many rows as you wish, of our scarf for just 10p a row. All monies raised will be donated to St. Luke's.

There is also our charity Knit-a-Thon; everyone is welcome to come along and knit (or crochet) as many rows as they wish for a donation of 10p per row. All donations will also go to St. Luke's Hospice.

Do come along and join us to support both St. Luke's Hospice and Yarn Shop Day.

Denise