From mosaics and embroidery to crochet and knitting, Craft Corner Stourport offers a creative space to learn a new skill or meet like-minded crafters.
The business, which celebrated its grand opening on January 31, is run by friends Leesa Davies and Jackie Henderson, who wanted to put their skills and knowledge together to open a café in their hometown.
Jackie Henderson said: “I’m very much self-taught and I’ve always loved crafting. I did textiles at school and started making my own clothes as a teenager.
“We had this idea of wanting to open a café, but we wanted to do something a bit more than just painting a pot off the shelf. We wanted to be more craft-focused and offer a range of different activities where people can learn new skills.
“When I’ve tried to find craft workshops or lessons, they are few and far between and you often have to travel or find them online. We wanted to fill this gap and offer creatives a space locally to learn a new craft or develop an existing one.”
Leesa Davies said: “This is very much Jackie’s vision. We had a chat over cheese and wine and thought it was ideal as Jackie could do the crafting and I could do the food.”
Craft Corner, which is based on Parkes Passage, offers craft and natter sessions and “learn to programmes”, where customers can learn crafts, including weaving and sewing, as well as group sessions in the week.
The group sessions include one for moms and babies and home-educated kids.
The crafts are mostly aimed at adults, but the home-educated kids sessions are suitable for older children from eight to 14 years old.
There is a cheese and wine evening on Thursdays with no crafting.
Ms Davies said: “It is very much an adult space at the moment, but the classes vary and are suitable for beginners to those more experienced. Jackie is on hand to help in the learn to classes, but there are also sessions more suited for people who just want to get on with their own crafts.
“A lot of people want to craft but worry they don’t have a creative mind, so that is where Jackie comes in to give them a bit of guidance.”
As well as crafting, there is food and drinks available including toasties, cakes and tea and coffee.
The venue, which requires customers to book in advance, is also available to hire for special occasions, including birthdays, where graze boards can be purchased.
Ms Henderson said: “We’ve had a great reaction so far and a lot of enquiries. We’ve already got an 80th birthday booked.
“It is a really sociable space and we’d encourage everyone to book in and give it a try.”
Ms Davies added: “It was really important for us to set up the business in Stourport. There were opportunities for us to open Craft Corner in Kidderminster, but it was worth the wait for this unit to be local to the town.
“Stourport gets overlooked quite a lot, especially when it comes to funding, so we wanted to bring something new and fun to residents.”
To find out more about Craft Corner and to see upcoming craft sessions visit https://www.stourportcraftcorner.co.uk/ or email hello@stourportcraftcorner.co.uk
You can also follow the business on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
