And so... it's done!

So two years to the day since we first opened our doors in Suite 5 - we have reopened them in Unit 3! So you have only moved a few hundred yards I hear you say! Well we think we have moved much further than that! This day two years ago was the culmination of 7 months of hard work - from the first glimmer of an idea over Julie's kitchen table in February 2011, to opening the doors to Bee Crafty on 6th August. And we thought that was the hard part!

 

Since then it has been an emotional rollercoaster - and harder work than we ever thought possible, but now here we are... 2 years on with a terrific business, amazing staff and a whole bunch of fabulous customers who have shared the journey. And now we are ready to move on to the next phase. These new bigger premises will give us the opportunity to grow the business even more - with a greater selection of workshops and groups, as well as more space to just have fun!

 

We have loads of ideas that we will share with you as the future of Bee Crafty unfolds - and we promise that it will be as interesting as the past 2 years have been! So watch this space - and see where we go next!

Thank you for joining us so far!

Sarah & Julie!

Textiles In Focus

Well Textile in Focus is over for another year, we have packed up the stall and brought the remaining treasures back to the shop, and we LOVED it!

This is how the Bee Crafty stand looked at the beginning of the show... it lookked a lot different by the end of the weekend!

 

Textiles in Focus is an intimate show - with about 20 carefully selected traders invited each year. What this means for the visitor is that there is plenty of lovely space to move around in. None of that 'shin bashing' or 'elbow knocking' that has become the norm for many of the larger shows at the NEC and the like. Here you have wide isles to stroll down as you admire all of the textile loveliness on show! It really is a tribute to the hard work of Pauline Verrinder who, with the help of her family, work so hard to make this show a success.

 

As well as a lovely selection of stalls (of which we were but one) there were 29 2-hour workshops on offer thoughout the weekend. There were a fascinating selection of skills to try - and I'm not just saying that because 2 of those workshops were put on by yours truly! There was a whole raft of things I would have happily signed up to if I hadn't have been working.

 

There were also some fabulous exhibitions put on by Anglia Textile Works, Fen Edge Textiles, Fibre Fusion and the Cambridgeshire Embroiderers Guild. These left me somewhere between 'hugely inspired' and 'terrified out of my mind' because I would never be as good as these ladies obviously are. A thrill for me was to see the work of Pam Tasker who teachs in our shop, but who's work I never usually get to see. This was tailoring taken to a whole new level and would make any woman look fabulous! They asked us not to take pictures so there is notheing to see here... but take a trip over to their websites for a bit of a look around!

 

You will be pleased to know that I wasn't too terrified in the end. I bought some stunning space dyed fabrics from 21st Century Threads, coupled them with some delica beads from Spangles and some hand dyed threads from own own stall and got back to a bit of hand stitching with a passion!

 

So if you saw us there, dropped by to say hello, or simply plan to get over next year, then you are truely welcome!

 

Apprenticeships

We all keep hearing about the rising levels of youth unemployment, and we at Bee Crafty are hoping to do our small part to help - as well as have someone help us!

So we are looking for some young vibrant, talented youngsters out there to apply to work with us and gain a qualification in Retail through Peterborough College! So if you know any young people who are interested, then please let them know. Please note that the deadling is Friday 15th February so if it sounds like you, you will need to get your skates on!

Here's some of the details you will need!

Apprentice Sales & Admin Apprentice

 

We are looking to recruit a Sales & Admin Assistant to assist in the day to day running of a busy craft retail shop and workshops. The successful candidate will be interacting with customers and providing advice on craft needs from patchwork, knitting and crochet, beading to personalised crafting kits. 

The position would ideally be suited to a candidate with a keen interest in creative arts with a passion to meet a diverse range of customers that visit the venue.

In-house training will also be provided, allowing you to gain craft skills from cutting and measuring fabrics, sewing, embroidery, knitting to handbag making and using photo-fabric.

With close mentoring support, there will be opportunities to facilitate workshops to even personally planning and delivering projects aimed at young craft enthusiasts.  

Typical tasks will include:

·         Administratively support the team as required from diary and event bookings to accounts and filing tasks.

·         Operation of till for customer transactions within the shop.

·         Assisting the team in maintaining the craft shop and workshop areas to be tidy and clean.

·         Assisting in deliveries unpacking/ pricing as required.

·         Moving and handling craft materials and sewing equipment.

·         Assisting with stock checks.

·         Ensure good customer service is demonstrated to all customers visiting the venue – the company attracts a diverse range of visitors from teenagers, senior citizens to young families and adults with supported learning needs and disabilities. 

·         To develop good knowledge of stock and the types of craft workshops available

·         Under close supervision, to be confident in cutting fabric materials to a customer’s brief.

·         To assist the team in liaising with suppliers and with the point of sale merchandising of craft products and services. 

·         Deal with day to day customer queries face to face, by phone or email.

·         Work as part of a team with other centre staff with any other duties required.

·         IT skills – updating the company website from uploading pictures onto the workshop events web-page to refreshing the social media Blog.

·         Support the team with marketing  and PR activity to create the awareness of the business.

         Ensure all Health & Safety procedures are effectively carried out and reporting any concerns to the team.

·         To be a team player in setting up exhibition stands and meeting new people at craft trade shows.

·         Work as part of a team with the other members of team.

·         To assist as required with any other tasks requested by the employer.

Working week:

• 4 days in the workplace – Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am-5pm or 9am-5:30pm (working hours depend on the time of year)
• College day release - NVQ/Apprenticeship in Retail through Peterborough College
• 2 days off

If you are interested or require further information about this Apprenticeship please send your CV to Judith Gough : Judith@dgauk.com or contact her on 0844 225 2131.

City & Guilds here at Bee Crafty

We are absolutely delighted to announce that we will be hosting 3 City & Guilds Level 1 classes here at Bee Crafty from April 2013.

 

If it has been on your New Year’s Resolution list to get yourself a crafting qualification, improve your skills, or just enjoy a day a month being your fabulous crafty self then this could well be for you!

 

These workshops are aimed at complete beginners, anyone who wants to gain a recognised qualification or those who want to enter into a structured course of learning and who may wish to gain teaching qualifications in their chosen subject.

Each course consists of 2 units;

• Unit 1 introducing simple design ideas using colour, line and texture.
• Unit 2 involves the production of a portfolio of samples and a folder of notes.

Each course is divided into 6 lessons of 5 hours and some individual work is required.

 

We will be offering the following 3 courses at Bee Crafty; City & Guilds Level 1 Certificate in Design & Craft Courses, Machine Embroidery, Hand Embroidery and Patchwork & Quilting.

 

We will be having a "meet and greet" in the shop on Saturday 9th March 10am - 2pm where you will get the chance to meet the teacher Bev Mayo, view samples and discuss what is involved in the course. If you are even remotely interested it would be worth coming along to take a look and have a cuppa and a chat!

 

Machine embroidery - City & Guilds level 1 Certificate in Design and Craft 7716-18

Teacher Bev Mayo Course cost £249

You will learn to create simple designs and create a portfolio of machine embroidery samples, including free stitching and textural samples as well as using automatic stitches and tension adjustments. You will learn how to adjust a sewing machine to produce new stitch patterns and textures using a variety of needles, threads, and lowering the machine feed to allow free stitching.

Course dates:  

April 4th

May 2nd

June 6th

July 4th

September 5th

October 3rd

 

Hand embroidery - City & Guilds level 1 Certificate in Design and Craft 7716-06

Teacher Bev Mayo Course cost £249

You will learn to create simple designs and create a portfolio of hand embroidery samples,  During the course you will experiment with a range of stitches, threads and needles. and explore different embroidery techniques,

Course dates:

April 11th

May 9th

June 13th

July 11th

September 12th

October 10th

 

 

Patchwork & Quilting - City & Guilds level 1 Certificate in Design & Craft 7716-09 Teacher Bev Mayo Course cost £249

You will learn to create simple designs and create a portfolio of patchwork and quilting samples. You will produce your own templates and blocks as well as working on traditional techniques. During the course you will explore the use of some fabric colouring mediums, as well as using commercially available fabrics.

Course dates:

April 18th

May 16th

June 20th

July 18th

September 19th

October 17th

 

Bev Mayo Profile

I have been working with textiles since a young girl starting with kits and magazines. In the 80’s I started designing hand knitted aran garments which were sold though craft fairs through out the country. On moving to Peterborough I began designing cross stitch patterns for national magazines. This led me to the City & Guilds courses and I completed what is now the certificate and diploma Creative Embroidery courses in the early 1990’s. I have recently completed the City & Guilds Patchwork and Quilting Certificate under the guidance of Barbara Weeks.

I have worked in local Primary and Secondary schools as an Artist in Residence and as a textile teacher, helping several schools achieve their Art Mark.

I have been an active member of the Embroiderers Guild since the early 90’s and joined the Quilters Guild 3 years ago.

I have had work exhibited both locally and further afield, I was a finalist in the Charles Henry Foyle Award twice with my work being exhibited at the Needle Forge Museum in Redditch.

For more information contact Bev Mayo, rmcreativestitches@hotmail.com Tel: 07840 543 899 follow her on Facebook at Roemayo Creative Stitches

BEV MAYO of RoeMayo Creative Stitches is a Micro Centre of Link2Create Ltd