In February, the Wiltshire Times reported that beloved town-centre shop Made in Bradford on Avon would be closing its doors for the last time.
Now, a group of around 20 artists has come together to form a community company, and will open an art shop and gallery on Lamb Yard.
The shop is set to be called Handmade in Bradford on Avon, and will sell “local art by local artists”. The group is currently looking to open the shop on May 3.
PJ Buchanan, a glass artist who is otherwise known by her artist name SkyDog Glass, will be one of the directors of the new venture, and spoke to the Times about the opening.
PJ said the prospect of setting up is “daunting, really daunting.” However, she is excited about having an opportunity to help establish the shop with fellow artists.
She said: “We’re all in it together. My name is on the company registration documents, but actually, it’s a whole team of artists, and we’re all working very hard to get the shop up and running.”
PJ praised the work that Made in Bradford on Avon has done, and said the aim of the new venture is to continue providing a resource for local artists.
She continued: “We felt it was important something should carry on. The shop’s been a good source of income, it’s important place to sell your work. To have a physical shop is fantastic, a lovely thing to have.”
“It will be similar in some ways. We’re all artists and we were naturally very sad the shop was closing and felt we should do something.
“There were about 20 of us, we felt it would be a shame if it disappeared completely. Of course, it is completely different and new shop. Someone said why don’t we find out if we can rent the space.
“The landlords didn’t say no, so we formed a community interest company. Then we set up a bank, and the landlord said yes you can have the premises. Now we’re all in it together. We’re volunteer run and staffed. The directors are volunteers and artists as well.”
Though the shop will be run by a large team, PJ is stepping in as co-director with Kevin Crane, a woodworker. She says
“I was a resident artist at the Corsham gallery for a couple of years, and I finished in December 2023. I’ve worked in the MIB shop as a volunteer. I’m a glass artist. By trade, I’m an accountant, but I’ll be keeping the books and keeping things on the go behind the scenes.”
So far, PJ explains that the feedback they have received to their social media posts concerning the opening about the shop has been encouraging.
She continued: “We posted a couple of updates on Facebook and people are really positive. We’ve set up a GoFundMe page, because we’re broke and are looking for anyone to contribute.”
In addition to the shop, PJ explained that the Handmade Bradford on Avon will also be putting on a craft fair leading into the summer, for which the shop is still looking for stallholders.
She continued: “We’re also running a pop-up craft and makers market in May and June, for which we’re looking for stall holders. That’ll make the shop more vibrant and to have more people in the shop, so it’s visibly new and will get people into the shop.”
More can be read about the fundraising appeal here: https://gofund.me/9475ba2b
