Published:
11:22 am 16 March 2022

“Attending an arts and crafts workshop is so much more than a creative hobby – it can have many benefits, from improving mental health to developing social skills,” says Emma Langdale, director of Waveney Enterprises in Beccles.

Housed in a Grade II listed building in the town centre, Waveney Enterprises is a non-profit day center offering craft workshops for adults with mild to moderate learning difficulties and mental health needs.

Here, Emma shares some of the benefits of joining their craft groups, including the positive effect it can have on social and mental well-being.

1. Learn new creative skills

Waveney Enterprises has a charity shop at the front of the property where they sell handcrafted items made by service users
– Credit: Waveney Enterprises

Using a person-centered approach, the team at Waveney Enterprises is dedicated to helping adults develop new skills and take pride in the crafts they make through independent learning and supportive mentorship.

“Activities include painting, printing, clay working, card making, knitting, sewing and carpentry, mostly using materials donated by the local community,” Emma explains. “We welcome all people of all crafting abilities to participate in our activities and always encourage independent learning to enhance self-efficacy.”

The team running the workshop have experience in arts and crafts as well as teaching special educational needs (SEN) and are there to help service users develop their skills while learning. ensuring that the work is of high quality. Most of the handcrafted items are sold in the shop at the front of the property, with proceeds going to charity to support the activities.

2. It develops social skills

Building camaraderie is especially important for people who might otherwise be isolated at home or less likely to participate in leisure activities with their peers. “Our unique service provides a friendly, safe and fun environment for like-minded people to come and enjoy the social aspect of the workshop while crafting,” says Emma.

Emma tells us how many service users are encouraged to develop their interpersonal skills while working in the charity shop. “In addition to helping build confidence and independence, the customer service skills they learn can sometimes lead to other jobs or volunteer placements in other retail environments” , she says.

3. It improves health and well-being

Mental health issues affect many people in society, including people with learning or developmental disabilities who may also struggle to get the support they need. By providing a supportive, caring and person-centered environment, the craft workshop aims to improve self-esteem and overall well-being.

“Spending a day or even a few hours in our workshop can do wonders for mental health,” says Emma. “The workshops are in a beautiful Grade II listed building, with a secret garden and outbuildings, providing a quiet and relaxing environment suited to everyone’s individual needs.”

4. It creates a sense of community

The Waveney Enterprises craft workshop provides a friendly, safe and fun environment for adults with mild to moderate learning disabilities and mental health needs
– Credit: Waveney Enterprises

A big part of Emma and the team at Waveney Enterprises’ job is to help people lead independent lives wherever possible and ensure they stay at the heart of the community.

“The Craft Shop is like a second home for many of our service users and we’re like a close-knit family,” says Emma. “Our staff members are aware of each other’s personal circumstances and throughout the pandemic we have carried out regular wellness checks and provided home craft packs to maintain that sense of community.

“We also have links with local charities and agencies and are happy to reach out and help organize other internships and work,” she adds.

5. It provides support to loved ones and caregivers

In addition to benefiting those attending the workshop, the drop-in center provides much-needed respite for parents and caregivers. “Many of the people who use our service are cared for by aging parents, so a lot of what we do is to provide respite during the day while helping with their progression,” says Emma.

“We can also liaise with other social workers if parents or guardians have concerns about additional health needs, and point them in the right direction where they can get the support they need.”

Waveney Enterprises offers internships in their craft workshop for one to five days from 9am to 3pm. They are also looking for two new directors to join the board. To find out about free discovery days or to become an administrator, call 01502 716065 or email [email protected] to find out more.

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) – The Broome County Public Library has more to offer than just books – it’s a place where community members can escape the stresses of the world through arts and crafts.

The library offers a variety of art-based activities that serve as a healthy emotional outlet for adults, such as knitting classes, a relaxation station, and a new craft class called “Art Without Purpose.”

Library information services manager Sherry Kowalski said crafting is a great activity to get involved in.

“It definitely helps with stress management, and you’re surrounded by like-minded people who like the same things, so that’s always a good thing,” Kowalski said.

Sandra Nguyen, who attends the adult walk-in crafts program, said the classes allowed her to bond with like-minded people. She said she appreciates the freedom of being able to express herself through art.

“I like expression. I like that freedom of just thinking about something and manifesting it on a physical, tangible thing,” Nguyen said.

Those interested in learning more about craft activities at the Broome County Public Library can follow this link or contact Information Services at 607-296-3016.

Here is a good result born from the pandemic. Many more people have started using their hands and hearts to make crafts at home.

Those so-called artisans who used to say “If only I had time, I’d like to do (fill in the blank: tapestry, pottery, quilting, candle making, basket weaving, woodworking, painting or making macrame walls the art of bicycle tires and tights) had their chance.

As people found creative ways to entertain themselves and children during lockdown, pursuing small crafts has become big business.

Craft supply stores such as Hobby Lobby and Michaels have seen surprisingly strong sales during the pandemic, and their projections for 2022 remain strong.

In 2020, Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade items, more than doubled its revenue, and for the first nine months of 2021, its gross merchandise sales increased 39% from the same period of the previous year, according to Forbes.

Even small craft businesses have felt the boost. “Our business tripled in 2020,” said Shannon Brinkley, a fabric designer who runs The Meander Guild, an international online forum where quilters come together to explore quiltmaking styles from around the world and develop their crafts.

“When people were stuck at home, they tried to think of new things to do and creative sparks took hold,” said Jeff Herman, editor-in-chief of Lawnstarter, an app that lets users book cleaning services. lawn and outdoors. This month, his company released its “Best Cities for Crafting” report.

“We’ve all seen stories about how many people have put the extra time and money they had during the pandemic into home improvements,” Herman said.

“But fewer talked about how they used time and money to improve their homes and quality of life through craftsmanship. It seems like a huge trend.

Indeed, as a society, we have gone from wringing our hands to wringing tie-dye T-shirts and knitting our eyebrows to knitting afghans. Creating crafts has not only helped us pass the time in isolation and distracted us from the problems of the world, but has also made our homes more beautiful and sometimes brought dough.

Kat Kennedy is a good example. “I’ve always loved doing crafts,” she says. But when the pandemic hit, the 34-year-old mom took up finger knitting, a technique that doesn’t use needles. She started making blankets with a vengeance.

“Before the pandemic, I had probably done a total of three covers in my life,” she said. Since COVID, she has made 21. Several adorn her home. Some, it is sold. Others, it is given as a gift or given to the homeless.

Her boyfriend, Daniel Hardy, also caught craft fever. After Kennedy dragged him to a few thrift stores, he became interested in old furniture and began picking up a few worn but well-made pieces, including china cabinets, cedar chests and dressers, and learned to sanding, touching up and restoring them. watching YouTube videos. He is now selling his refurbished furniture.

The couple do it all in the living room of a 925-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment. Kennedy knits in an oversized chair, while Hardy works nearby in part of the dining room they’ve turned into a studio.

According to the “Best Cities for Crafters” survey, the top five are New York, San Francisco, Miami, Seattle, and Patterson, NJ. But more important than ranking is knowing what to look for in your community to help you succeed in crafting. . Here are the qualities researchers have found that can help ignite crafters’ glue guns:

• Access to materials: Having lots of craft supply stores per square mile helped boost a town’s ranking, as did having an abundance of hardware, fabric, and thrift stores.

• Artisan community: Cities where many local artists participated in their Local Artists Sunday — an art shopping event held each November in cities across America — ranked highest, along with those that had many groups of craft meeting.

“Having a concentration of artists nearby is important for both inspiration and networking,” Herman said.

• Educational opportunities: The more arts and crafts classes a city offers and the more schools that offer arts and crafts classes, the greater the opportunities for artistic growth and enrichment, and the higher a city scores in the ranking.

• Artistic events: A final measure of a city’s craft potential is the number of arts events, including craft fairs and art festivals, that a city hosts each year. Whether you tap into a creative community online or in person, artists do best when they engage with other artists.

Join me next week as we talk about what every crafting room should have.

Marni Jameson is the author of six home and lifestyle books, including “Downsizing the Family Home – What to Save, What to Let Go”. Contact her at marnijameson.com.

A good thing to come out of the confinement linked to the pandemic: all these budding artisans, who said: “If only I had time, I would take up embroidery / pottery / quilting / painting”, had their luck.

As people found creative ways to entertain themselves, small crafts became big business. Craft supply stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels have seen surprisingly strong sales during the pandemic, and their projections for 2022 remain strong. Etsy more than doubled its revenue in 2020, according to Forbes, and for the first nine months of 2021, sales were up 39% from the same period a year earlier.

Even small craft businesses have felt the boost. “Our business tripled in 2020,” said Shannon Brinkley, a quilt and fabric designer based in Leesburg, Va. The author and quilting teacher also runs The Meander Guild, an international online forum for quilters. “We grew tremendously because so many people were looking for artistic connection and had free time.”

“When people were stuck at home, they were trying to think of new things to do and creative sparks were taking hold,” said Jeff Herman, editor-in-chief of Lawnstarter, a company that, among other things, does curious surveys. . He has just published his 2022 report on the best cities for crafts. (More on that in a minute.)

“We’ve all seen stories about how many people have put the extra time and money they had during the pandemic into home improvements,” Herman said. “But fewer talked about how they used time and money to improve their homes and quality of life through craftsmanship. It seems like a huge trend.

Indeed, as a society, we have gone from wringing our hands to wringing tie-dye T-shirts and knitting our eyebrows to knitting afghans. Craftsmanship not only helped pass the time and distract us from the troubles of the outside world, it made our homes more beautiful and sometimes brought dough.

Kat Kennedy, of Newport News, Virginia, is a good example. “I’ve always loved doing crafts,” she says. But when the pandemic hit, the 34-year-old mum took to finger knitting – no needles needed – and started making blankets with a vengeance.

“Before the pandemic, I had probably done a total of three covers in my life,” she said. Since Covid, she has done 21. Several adorn her home. Some, it is sold. Others, it is given as a gift or given to the homeless.

Her boyfriend, Daniel Hardy, also caught craft fever. After Kennedy dragged him to a few thrift stores, he became interested in old furniture. The 38-year-old medical insurance rep picked up a few worn but well-made pieces, including china cabinets, chests and cedar dressers, and learned how to restore them by watching YouTube videos. He now sells his refurbished furniture through his online store.

“When the pandemic started, you couldn’t go out. The kids couldn’t go to school,” said Kennedy, who works from home in customer service for a gardening company. “Knitting and restoring furniture took up our time and made us forget everything that was going on. Craftsmanship really brought us together.

And they do it all in the living room of a 925 square foot apartment. She knits in an oversized chair, while Hardy works nearby in a part of the dining room they’ve turned into a workshop and covered with drop cloths.

Now back to the smartest cities. According to the Best Cities for Crafters survey, the top five are New York, San Francisco, Miami, Seattle and Patterson, NJ – and the worst, coming in at number 200, was Enterprise, Nevada. Here are the qualities researchers have found can help ignite crafters’ glue guns:

Access to materials: Having lots of craft supply stores per square mile helped boost a town’s rank, as did an abundance of hardware, fabric, and thrift stores.