Camborne’s Creative Revolution: New Pottery Studio Opens with Fundraising Event

Camborne, Cornwall – A New Era for Craft Enthusiasts

Camborne is set to celebrate the opening of a new pottery studio on Saturday, 7th September 2024, at the CREATE Contemporary Crafts Hub, located in the heart of the town. The event, scheduled from 3 pm to 6 pm, marks a significant milestone for the local community, offering a fully equipped and accessible ceramics studio that promises to nurture creativity and preserve traditional craft skills.

The studio is part of a broader effort to revitalise Camborne’s town centre, funded through the Camborne Town Deal, and is one of ten projects aimed at creating new opportunities and raising aspirations for local residents. The facilities include various kilns, a slab roller, a glaze room with a spray booth, extruders, wheels, and a plaster room dedicated to mould making and slip casting. Additionally, there is a large teaching area and individual workspaces for users to pursue their own projects.

Jane Smith’s Vision for Community Creativity

Jane Smith, the founding director of Create CIC, educator, and artist specialising in ceramics and glass, expressed her excitement about the studio’s potential. “It’s a joy to be able to encourage our local community’s creativity, whilst keeping craft skills alive, and making it accessible to all is a priority,” Jane said.

Create CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise, was co-founded by Jane and Angela Hatherell in 2020. The organisation was born out of a desire to repurpose large-scale glass equipment from Falmouth University after the closure of their Contemporary Crafts course. Since opening the Contemporary Crafts Hub in the Donald Thomas Centre on Chapel Street in 2021, Create CIC has been dedicated to offering workshops and courses in warm glass, ceramics, and jewellery, alongside professional skills development, equipment hire, and workspaces.

Fundraising Effort: Handmade Mugs for a Cause

To coincide with the studio’s opening, a unique fundraising event will be held, inviting all Create CIC members, course participants, friends, and workshop attendees to donate a handmade mug. These mugs, along with those donated by professional artists, will be displayed in the studio, with a fundraising draw scheduled for 5 pm.

Renowned artists such as Kate Malone MBE, Catherine Mountford, Simon Kneebone, and others have contributed their work to this cause. Each mug will be assigned a random number between one and a hundred, and tickets for the draw are available for a minimum donation of £20. The goal is to raise £2,000, which will fund after-school pottery classes for local children.

Camborne Town Deal Board’s Support

Val Dalley, Chair of the Camborne Town Deal Board, praised the efforts of Create CIC, stating, “The Contemporary Crafts Hub is a fantastic facility for Camborne, and the Create CIC team has worked really hard to make the courses accessible to everyone. The transformation they have achieved at the Donald Thomas Centre is amazing, and on behalf of the Town Deal Board, I wish them continued ongoing success.”

Tickets for the mug draw can be purchased in person or online through the Create CIC website.

For more information about the Camborne Town Deal, visit Camborne Town Deal. To learn more about Create CIC and their work, visit Create CIC.

Contact Information

For further details, contact Angela Hatherell, Create CIC Director, at angela@createcic.co.uk or call 01209 716927.