A small, local artisan business is celebrating winning a prestigious national award.

Photos: submitted

Cushion Cottage, located at the Old Railway Station, Station Road, Reepham, and selling local handmade homewares and gifts, has received a Small Business Sunday award, organised and sponsored by Theo Paphitis, the business tycoon and former dragon on TV’s Dragons’ Den.

Cushion Cottage, run by husband and wife team Sally and Doug Bennett (pictured), started their business in 2012, primarily at craft events and selling online.

They have owned their shop in Reepham since 2018, initially selling their own products and those of eight other local artisan makers – a figure that has now grown to 21 Norfolk-based artisans.

The shop sells a wide range of unique handmade items, including cushions, lampshades, upcycled glass and wood lamp bases, soaps, silverware and coasters. It offers “something for everyone”, with bespoke services also on offer for those requiring something more specific.

“We are absolutely over the moon at winning this award as it truly recognises the ethos of the foundations on which the shop is run, particularly supporting local makers and the unique products that are on offer,” the couple said.

“People love coming to our shop to get that visual experience and purchase items direct, which are not available through mainstream online outlets. The award provides us with a huge support network and platform to enable us to grow our business.”

Cushion Cottage is open Wednesday – Saturday 10 am – 4 pm and Sunday 11 am – 3 pm. Tel: 01603 928182.

See our earlier story:

• Cushion Cottage opens handmade homeware shop

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On a visit around the studios, visitors will find a diverse range of skills exhibited and art work to view and buy, while Reepham boasts a number of cafés and pubs for refreshments.

Details about the artists taking part and a map of the Reepham & District Art Trail can be found on the North Norfolk Open Studios website:

Booklets and trail leaflets will also be available in May at various locations in and around Reepham.

The post Art trail returns to Reepham district this spring appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Work by Antje Ernestus (left) and Carolyn Penney (right)

The event will be a chance to meet the artists to talk about their work, as well as buying artwork directly from them.

All the artists will be offering original work for sale from their workshops, gardens and studios; many also produce prints and cards.

Formed in 2020 as an artists’ co-operative, North Norfolk Studios comprises more than 100 artists and makers, showcasing the wide-ranging ability and talent residing in this part of the country.

The artists have been organised into a number of trails, which this year covers an area from Castle Acre and Fakenham to Potter Heigham and Acle, as well as along the coast from Burnham Market to Happisburgh.

There will be a wide diversity of work to discover: paintings, prints, drawing, woodcraft, glass, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, sculpture, jewellery, mixed media, photography and furniture.

Most studios are open daily from 10 am – 5 pm, although some are closed during the week. Details of participating artists, opening times and trail maps can be found on the NNS website.

A brochure will be available from early May in local libraries, shops and tourist offices. Download the Reepham & District Art Trail map HERE.

There will also be a taster exhibition showing the work of a selection of artists participating in the Reepham and District Art Trail at the Old Workshop Gallery, The Street, Corpusty NR11 6QP, from Wednesday 1 May to Sunday 2 June. This will be an opportunity to preview some of the work and plan your studio visits.

The Corpusty gallery will be open from 10 am – 5 pm, Wednesday to Saturday – and every day throughout the open studios period.

For more information about the Reepham & District Art Trail, please contact Carolyn Penney by email.

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Artist Heidi McEvoy-Swift, resident in the cabin at Broomhill. Photo: Helen Lindsay

Broomhill was one of three venues hosting six artists as part of the Ground Beneath Our Feet gallery theme of “Extraction”.

Eight artists have worked as associates, and the resulting exhibition, which will be held at the gallery from 2–30 September, will include work from all 14 artists.

The residency programme included local visits to inspire and inform the topic of extraction.

These included a chalk quarry; Deddington bog where carrstone can be found; a historic sand quarry; the regenerative farm project at Wild Ken Hill; wetland meadows; Holme dunes; and a river restoration scheme in Foulsham.

Artist Heidi McEvoy-Swift, resident in the cabin at Broomhill, produced work in progress and made artwork to leave in the environment.

For more information on the artists and exhibition. click HERE.

GroundWork Gallery is dedicated to art and environment, showing the work of contemporary artists who care about how we see the world.

“Exhibitions and creative programmes explore how art can enable us to respond to the changing environment and imagine how we can shape its future,” the gallery says.

Ms McEvoy-Swift is an artist and educator using stitch, textiles and language to comment on ideas of identity, legacy and worth.

Her work showcases the connections textiles have to the land, to nature and to human development.

She works directly into her environment, centring on creation, rather than production.

Ms McEvoy-Swift will be exploring contemporary society’s sense of loss through local archaeological finds to uncover the ancient societies that once walked, lived and crafted the fens and marshlands of East Anglia, especially artefacts preserved by peat.

The post Broomhill hosts artist residency for King’s Lynn gallery project appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

The event runs from Saturday 27 May until Sunday 4 June, coinciding with the half-term and spring bank holiday.

The Reepham trail features 17 artists at 11 venues covering Melton Constable, Briston, Corpusty, Wood Dalling, Foulsham, Kerdiston and Reepham.

Most studios are open daily from 10 am – 5 pm, featuring paintings, prints, drawing, illustrations, textiles, ceramics, sculpture, jewellery, mixed media, woodwork and furniture.

The Reepham and District Art Trail map will be available from local shops, libraries and the North Norfolk Studios website. Alternatively, contact Jane Bygrave 01603 870640.

First held in 2020, this year’s North Norfolk Open Studios event includes 150 artists exhibiting over a wider area than previously.

Details of participating artists, opening times and maps can be found on the website. A brochure will also be available from early May in local libraries, shops and tourist offices.

The artists have again been organised into trails and this year there are 17. covering an area from Castle Acre and Fakenham to Potter Heigham and Acle and along the coast from Burnham Market to Happisburgh.

The event offers an opportunity to meet artists and talk to them about their work, as well as to see what they have to offer and to buy from them directly. All artists will be offering original work for sale, and many also produce prints and cards.

There will be a taster exhibition showing one piece of work by a selection of participating artists at The Old Workshop Gallery, The Street, Corpusty, from Saturday 13 May to Sunday 4 June. Opening times: Wednesday–Saturday 10 am – 4.50 pm; Sunday 1–4.50 pm; Bank Holiday Monday 10 am – 2.30 pm.

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The workshops were fully booked, allowing those attending to learn new skills and produce something beautiful, creating collage birds, painted sailboats, copper roses and fused glass eggs.

The artists and makers included Carolyn Penney, Nicola Draycott, Tom Crisp, Sue Johnston and Emily Longhurst.

Places at the workshops were popular and fully booked within a short time of their announcement. They were held in the garden and meeting rooms in the Bircham Centre.

The budding artists were provided with all the necessary materials, funded by a small grant from Broadland District Council, and were able to leave proudly carrying their creations.

Bircham Centre manager Polly Brockis was thrilled with the success of the weekend. “It was wonderful to hear the buzz of conversation and see the pride and joy felt by everyone involved,” she said.

“This is exactly the kind of thing that the Bircham Centre is keen to promote: activities that improve the skills and wellbeing of Reepham’s community.”

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Barry Barker, who previously ran the Bircham Centre book stall in the Market Place, will be holding a local quiz at 10.30 am on the last Monday of each month at these sessions.

All are welcome for warmth, a slice of cake and a cuppa and a bit of social fun. There will be a quiz prize of a £5 voucher to use in the charity shop or second-hand book room.

Another upcoming highlight is on the weekend of 25/26 February when the Reepham Artists & Makers group will be exhibiting their arts and crafts in Room 7 and offering free workshops in Room 8 and the garden. The Bircham Centre will provide refreshments over the weekend.

Support from Broadland District Council will help facilitate this event, with the local artists and makers giving their time and skills. The full timetable is being finalised so look out for further details.

Meanwhile, the Bircham Centre will soon be launching a new website as well as a major fundraising campaign.

Please note that donations to the Bircham Charity Shop and Book Room are only accepted on Tuesday mornings from 10 am – 12 noon.

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Based at the Collers Way Industrial Estate, Scrapbox reopened its doors on Wednesday 9 September, offering repurposed materials to crafters, organisations and charities that use recycled resources.

This followed an enormous amount of work by staff, trustees and volunteers in recent weeks to make the shop “Covid-safe”.

This included the introduction of a new door and a one-way system around the shop, as well as limits on the numbers allowed in the shop at any time.

The reopening of Scrapbox, which took place on Monday 7 September, also saw the charity reveal its new patron to the public: the Bishop of Norwich, Rt Rev’d Graham Usher.

Bishop Graham, who is known for his background in ecology as well as his enthusiasm for environmental causes, accepted the trustees’ invitation to take on a formal role with the charity.

Scrapbox manager Tula Chenery said: “We’re really excited that we’re now in a position to reopen, having been closed for six months and knowing how desperate our members have become for resources.

“The Scrapbox shopping experience may be a little different for a while, but we’ve still got a fantastic range of reclaimed resources as usual in our revamped shop.”

The reopening of the charity brings with it a call for new volunteers and staff are particularly looking for people to help on Thursdays to prepare stock for the shop.

The new opening hours for Scrapbox will be Wednesdays 2–5 pm, Thursdays 2– 5 pm and Saturdays 11 am – 2 pm.

No donations of materials will be accepted during September.

Anyone who can spare three hours, either weekly or occasionally, to be part of Scrapbox should contact Tula Chenery on 01603 873128 or by email.

See our earlier story:

• New trustees aim to develop scrap materials charity

The post Reuse charity reopens following lockdown closure appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Photos: submitted

Organised by the Earle Arms public house, the market was held in the courtyards behind the pub and attracted more than a dozen local artisans, regional sellers and other festive treat on a wide range of stalls, including Reepham-based microbrewery Panther.

The pub offered up delicious seasonal treats with sausage rolls, mince pies and mulled wine, while the award-winning tea rooms were packed to capacity.

And existing Heydon business brands, interior designers Moochi Modo and floral designers Wallflower and Wallace opened up their retail units to the festive revellers.

Also joining in the fun were the new businesses in the freshly-converted barns that opened this autumn – Unit 7 Hair, Beauty Barn, Avocet Antiques and Crompton & Wallace.

The Heydon Estate has converted these old barns in recent years as part of a diversification plan, making use of local authority grant money. All the businesses are now open and doing good trade, it is reported.

A spokesperson for the event said: “It’s great to see so many local craftspeople and visitors in Heydon making good use of the superb range of rural businesses now on offer to visitors to this beautiful village.

“With great places to eat and drink and an eclectic range of interesting service and retail businesses now a part of the Heydon experience, it’s a really good day out any day of the week, but especially at seasonal events like this, bringing the community together en masse.”

Following the success of the event, plans are already under way for the 2020 Christmas market, which will add to the village’s annual calendar of popular community events such as the open gardens, tug of war, vintage fair and bonfire night.

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The group’s agreement to use the gallery at 21 Church Hill is coming to an end and it will close from Sunday 9 June.

According to a statement from the artist-led gallery: “We’ve all had an amazing experience learning how to operate an artists’ collective, made lots of new friends and enjoyed developing our artwork.

“It’s been a beautiful space to exhibit in and for that we are all very grateful. Please do come and along and see us before we close.”

The group said it plans to start exhibiting together in other venues.

For enquiries email

See our earlier story:

• Local artists opening pop-up art gallery

The post Reepham art gallery to close appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.