Liskeard Mentors for Makers scheme launched
In early December, Liskeard’s Market Makers Project – a new initiative to promote arts and crafts in the town as part of the regeneration of the old Cattle Market site – announced the first two businesses which have signed up to its free enterprise mentoring and support scheme. Both are small family businesses based in the Old Brewery complex of arts retail, hospitality and studio spaces, in the centre of the town.
Through the course of December, the project has also started to engage with a range of other brilliant arts and crafts enterprises and practitioners, including artists in ceramics, fabrics, multimedia, oil painting, watercolours, jewelry, soft furnishings, decorative work, design, woodcraft, puppet-making and arts therapy. We are posting regular updates about our local makers on our social media pages. More news will follow!
Pot Stars Studio is run by husband-and-wife team Marlon and Tiffany Biddle. When Marlon was laid off during the first lockdown, the couple decided this was the right time to start their own independent venture. Their business makes ceramic painting kits for children. They sell these across the country from their own website and also run pottery painting sessions for families from their facility in the Old Brewery.
“At the start of the first lockdown, our kids were constantly playing on their digital devices. We wanted to bring back some of those traditional craft activities for local families stuck at home to enjoy,” said Marlon.
“Last Christmas, families sent us pictures of them all sat together, all around the country, painting their decorations from our kits,” added Tiffany. “It felt so rewarding. That’s exactly what we’d hoped for when we started the business.”
DAK Art produces a range of decorative glassware and resin and acrylic work – from high-end glass art inspired by the scenery of the Cornish coast to fun and affordable Christmas decorations, alongside a series of decorative gnomes which we think are so cute they should be illegal.
The business is run by mother and daughter Dee and Abi Knight. Dee was born in Poland and first came to the UK as a teenager to study and develop her skills in multimedia art. She has since made Britain her home, and moved to Cornwall a few years ago, in order to create work that reflects the county’s extraordinary landscapes and seascapes. Dee’s daughter Abi has studied design at university and is now learning glass skills and helping to manage the business.
“I love the beauty of Cornwall,” said Dee. “It’s so inspiring. You can sit and stare at the sea every day or look into the changing skies, and they’re always different. It just makes you want to create.”
“We’re so happy to have both these businesses on board with us,” said Alec Charles, the manager of the Market Makers project. “They’re both creating highly desirable, high quality local products – handmade in Cornwall. They’re both robust enterprises with strong potentials for growth.
“It’s also great working with people based in the Old Brewery,” Alec added. “It’s a hidden gem, a vibrant and friendly space right in the heart of Liskeard. The town has a brilliant arts and crafts community, and we’re trying to help Liskeard gain its well-deserved place as a go-to destination on the region’s creative map.”
