I have good idea, sadly Im retired and have no funds😢

Thank you everyone who has replied to my post, and also for your advice and encouragement.
Since my original post a few days ago, I have been looking at a number of vacant premises within my local area. Each offering secure workspaces that artists /crafters could rent individually to work. I will come up with a written plan, and if all else fails with premises I will see where options lie in other departments for funding and councils.

Thank you for your reply. The information, and advice you have provided has certainly given me a positive way forward. For a number of years I've been happily selling my creations at stall events and online, but I want to do something more. Maybe to help other crafters, and maybe teach craft therapy. It looks like I'll be dusting off my C&G in Creative Arts, gathering evidence of my previous community group involvement (including editor of a community newspaper) and go knocking on a few doors. Its been a number of years, hopefully things haven't changed too much. Thank you!

Of course, we do not know exactly what OP has in mind - although I note she says she works in many forms of media - but arts and crafts cooperatives certainly are scalable. If that wasn’t the case, how has the the one in a busy shopping centre in this small city been thriving and growing for years?

It has knitting, crochet and sewing workshops, watercolour classes, jewellery-making, silk painting, hand-made flowers, calligraphy, collage, greetings card making and all with a wide variety of goods for sale. Artists also work with children and offer outreach in schools. It also offers creative writing groups, storytelling, digital art and animation classes. It grew from just a few people with a good idea. It is always busy with lots to see, do and buy.

There is another in the seaside town where my MiL lives, smaller but offering arts and craft classes and goods for sale plus food products, cakes, preserves and so.

If you browse the lottery funding website you will find all kinds of arts and crafts projects which have benefited from funding to get them started.

Our volunteer-run arts centre - about 20 of us - has been thriving and growing for ten years and goes from strength to strength. From two back rooms, six enthusiasts and a first year turnover of £5,000, we now welcome around 200 visitors a week and turnover £100,000. All done with hard work and some lottery funding to get us started.

OP says she is open to scale - she says minimum four. She has experience in selling at craft events. Why shouldn’t she aim for something similar?

The key, as I said before, is to get some younger creatives involved too rather than think of it solely as something for older people.

I am part of a stitching group creating a sort of village Bayeux tapestry on panels. We meet in each other's houses.
We applied for a grant from a small local arts charity for money for materials.

Some councils offer the use of community spaces free of charge……..perhaps enquire with your own council OP ?

I don’t think it’s a “scalable” prospect, the craft group my wife goes to struggles to maintain numbers attending, there are too many competing demands on time, health constraints too.

All clubs and voluntary groups have this problem, modern life is just so busy

Assuming you are thinking in terms of scaling this up if it proves successful, do talk to your parish, town or city councillors and your MP. They will be aware of premises that might be suitable for a project of this kind. They may be willing to give practical help or at least point you in the direction of the help you need to get you started. They can publicise what you are doing in their own newsletters. It’s good PR for you and for them.

I’m involved with an arts charity which started very small, in a couple of spare rooms in a municipal building. We then had the chance to expand when adjacent space became available. We did this with the aid of lottery funding both for fitting out the larger premises and a couple of projects initially to create public awareness and attract visitors. The local MP was extremely helpful with the expansion.

Offering workshops and tuition is a good idea - anything that will teach new skills and encourage community engagement.

Sketch out a business plan of where you want to be in one, two, five years time and longer; what you need and need to do to get there, including a legacy plan if and when the time comes when you can no longer be actively involved. Key is to get some younger people involved and to be open about other people’s ideas about organisation, management and direction.

Consider applying for charity status as that will provide numerous benefits as you grow not least to signal legitimacy to potential donors, volunteers, and other organizations. You only need three unrelated trustees to get started with that.

I fully support hobby groups for everyone but someone has to pay for whatever property you use, heating and lighting too, there is a new community hall built by the developer near me its rarely used, the cost of cleaning, heating etc is just too high.

sazz1

If you join a U3A you could be a convener for a craft group. Maybe someone might have a spare room where you could all meet. Just a thought

The U3A is always looking for enthusiastic inventors

I belong to a U3A craft group. The cost of a room in the village hall is on top of annual subs but it's not extortionate if you can attract enough members.
As well as various handicrafts, members make items for charity, all organised by the convenor. Occasionally someone will come and give a demonstration and get us trying something out of our normal comfort zone.

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I attend 4 craft groups. Knit and natter meet in the library on Saturday mornings. A group meet at the methodist church one weekday morning as part of 'The Meeting Place' . a social group for older residents with tea coffee and cake. We usually do a craft sale once a year and take a stall at the local summer fete selling crafts to raise money for the charity that runs the meeting place. My church have a group on a weekday evening and we pay a small amount to cover the cost of the heating in the winter. The other group is in another church locally and is only once a month. All the groups are sociable and mostly just take small fees or voluntary contributions. I couldn't afford to pay to hire a venue. Unfortunately selling crafts often doesn't pay its way. In our area there are a few pop-up shops which sell hand made crafts but they charge quite a high fee to display your wares and you have to work a session each week as well. When I considered it I realised that for it to be worthwhile I'd have to charge quite high prices and wasn't sure my things would sell in that context. Some of the things are lovely but the prices have to be quite high, so I just stick to having a table at church or library fundraisers and hope I sell enough to make it worth doing. I now give most of my crafts to friends as gifts.

If you join a U3A you could be a convener for a craft group. Maybe someone might have a spare room where you could all meet. Just a thought

Perhaps post this on your local community pages

Someone else has mentioned Men in Sheds and I concur, I know of a couple of groups that now host female craft groups.

While at university, with a family, mortgage and debts, I considered giving up to get a job. Instead after a friend told me about a particular reference book , I went to the library and spent hours looking through the 'directory of grant making trusts'. There are thousands of trusts that can help, who give money to worthy causes. I was doing a biology/ecology degree and gained two grants. One given simply because my home town was where that trust was based. The second one was from my Royal Corps of Signals, who paid off all my debts and enabled me to complete my degree.

I wrote around 50 letters to various trust funds. It's definitely worth a try. What can you lose, just hours of letter writing and mining through the thousands of trusts looking for ones that support crafts or business idea's.

Regards
Stephen

Maybe put out feelers on your local Facebook group or groups (the number of groups for one town/city seems to vary according to which town or city one lives in - as to whether it's the normal one on the one hand or several people wanting to be "It" and each of them runs their own group on the other hand).

Yep...I'm living in a town where there's an egoist running the main one and one set up against him and several others - but most places probably only have the standard "one for the town or city" concerned. I've not heard of other nearby towns/cities having a plethora of them too - so it's probably just the one it ought to be for your place.

The Shed organisation was mentioned. If that is The Men's Shed tgen they would probably be happy to have you as a member and accommodate your craft. There may already be members who do the same as you or if you have something otger may be interested dure tgey would try to accommodate. The Shed though isn't set up for individuals selling work other than that produceed for The Shed to sell. Often you can be reimbursed for materials for items you have produced for The Shed to sell at say, an Open Day. Lots of areas do have groups for crafting and rooms to let most at a cost though and there is heating, insurance to consider. Good luck, sure you will find somewhere. Do you have an Everyday organisation near you, local Council will know, as they are good at helping folk set up groups.

Many community centres already have groups just as you describe. My local church also has a crafters group. There is a cafe in town which proves coffee and a 'knit and natter'.

My wife goes to a craft group at a local village hall all it needs is a few enthusiasts getting together and finding space to do it.
Bear in mind that the cost of heating, cleaning etc has to be covered by someone.

What a wonderful idea and I hope that you find suitable premises soon .
I can see a need in my area for something
offering crafts and probably more importantly warm food .
Our church offers food once a week and crafts every fortnight-but I can see a far greater need .

Yes our local cafe has craft days and churches and dementia home has craft café sometimes

We've always held our Crochet meetings at Hobbycraft. A friend's Knitting group meets at the Library.

Try your local churches too- they often let out small rooms for very little or nothing...

Thank you for your reply!
I am putting together a plan, to start next spring, holding workshops for the variety of crafts I could teach. I have been offered space in a shop to do this. Hopefully to expand to other venues.

My city has a space which does what you describe, local arts and crafters selling their goods.

They have sponsorship from the county council, the city council, the Arts Council (Lottery Funded), the Lottery Community Fund and several others including a building society.

Why do you think you won’t be entitled to grants?

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes over £600m a year to communities across the UK.

A couple of links to get your started:

www.artscouncil.org.uk/ProjectGrants

www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/

Talk to people involved in managing similar projects to ask for advice.

Our local library holds a crafters’ evening every week. My friend goes along (with her knitted scarf), but says there are various types of crafts. It’s held in one of the study rooms which has large tables, chairs, sink and kettle.