the makers guild in wales
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COMMUNITY PROGRAMME

Learning through Craft

Community Craft Programme

With education through craft at its heart, The Guild is embedded within the heart of the local community with a thriving volunteer programme (In June 2013 the Guild was awarded a Go Wales Excellence Award for our work volunteer placement scheme with Cardiff Metropolitan University over the last ten years) along with a succesful 'Friends' Scheme. 
The Guild is recognised as a social enterprise coming out of its co-operative roots and in June 2012 the Guild was used as an exemplar study into co-operative consortia by the Wales Co-operative Centre.

The Guild runs a craft-based education programme which offers our community a unique opportunity to learn about and take part in high quality craft workshops and community arts programmes. Our educational programme is well regarded and popular with local Schools, Colleges and Universities along with the many who take part in our regular craft workshops. 


The Makers Guild in Wales Young Carers project 2019
Makers Guild in Wales project providing craft workshops for Young Carers.

Project made possible with the financial support of the Community Foundation in Wales.

In partnership with the YMCA Cardiff, the Makers Guild in Wales provided Young Carers living within Cardiff and surrounding Vale a programme of after school and school holiday craft workshops held within the workshop spaces at Craft in the Bay.
The craft project formed part of the YMCA's 'Time 4 Me' project aimed at providing Young Carers with opportunities to have a break from their responsibilities at home in helping to care for a sibling/parent and to have fun with other young people learning something new and interesting.

The workshops were delivered by professional makers experienced in teaching their specialist craft disciplines. A range of craft areas were covered including printmaking, felt making, jewellery design, pottery, enamelling, weaving, tie dye fabrics, willow sculpture and paper craft. Feedback from the young people, YMCA support staff and workshop tutors has all been very positive. Staff noticed improvements in the confidence and social skills of individual youngsters as they were brought together for the workshop sessions.

The project was very successful in providing opportunities for young people to learn new craft skills, gain in self confidence, feel proud of their achievements, develop their social skills and have time to just have fun with their peer group, away from the pressures of being a Young Carer at home. The team of staff from the YMCA were fantastic in their support of the project.

The unique gallery setting for their learning showed the Young Carers how the skills they were developing had been similarly applied by the guild members exhibiting and selling their craft in the gallery - a unique source of motivation, ambition and inspiration for developing individual creativity and expression.

Quotes from the young people when asked what they enjoyed:
‘everything because you got to make stuff’ ‘I liked it all a lot’
‘I got to meet new people’ ‘it was different’
‘using the wheel’ ‘clay’ ‘I liked getting messy and doing something new and learned new things’ ‘doing the pots’ ‘painting’ ‘being with my friend, making pottery, not being lonely’ ‘making my shark’
I liked painting and modelling because I was talking and having fun with my friends (Blessing) ‘I got to explore my creative side’
‘doing the enamelling’ ‘making stuff it was fun’ ‘we all had fun’
‘everything’ 'I liked that it got me out of the house’
Got to make my own necklace/rings and I have never done that before (Sonila)
Everything, I loved getting crafty (Georgie) That we learnt new things (Niamh)


Brysia Wella

During the week of the Urdd Eisteddfod in Cardiff Bay we hosted a special programme of events in partnership with Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board. Celebrating Welsh culture and language, Health & Wellbeing. the exhibition featured work by Haf Weighton and a daily programme of craft workshops, enabling young people to have fun creating artworks for a growing exhibition in our gallery during the week long event.
Special thanks to Julie Morgan AM and Maria Battle, Chair , Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board for officially opening the programme and taking part in our Creative Craft Workshops! #ArtsforHealthandWellbeing

Young Carers Project 2017



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Young Carers Project 2017
Thanks to funding from The Welsh Church Act Fund We delivered a project of craft workshops for Cardiff Young Carers in partnership with YMCA Cardiff - Young Carers


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Funding our new Kilns

we'll keep you updated on how we progress with our new equipment!Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Maker Guild Wales Steve Nicholls accepts the cheque from Mark Poole of Viridor & Prosiect Gwyrdd Community Fund.
We've recently succesfully replaced our old Kilns.  Our educational programme is popular with local Schools, Colleges and Universities along with the many who take part in our regular craft workshops. ​The kilns that we use to provide our workshops recently broke down and were beyond economic repair, leaving us without some of the most used and vital pieces of equipment required to continue our workshop programme. 

We are so very grateful for the support provided by The Viridor & Prosiect Gwyrdd Community Fund and the The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation UK  and all those who donated via our crowdfunding campaign. We'll keep you updated on the projects that we run using our new kiln!
(April 2017)



About Us

Makers Guild Wales
Craft in the Bay
The Flourish, Lloyd George Avenue
Cardiff  CF10 4QH

Charity number 1113675
​Company number 5608888

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 Craft in the Bay
Open
Tuesday - Sunday, 11.00am - 3.00pm

ADMISSION FREE

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  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
    • Events
    • Workshops
    • Art & Craft Parties
  • About Us
    • About the Guild
    • Re-opening
    • Our Gallery >
      • Makers Guild Wales
      • D Shed
      • Resilient Heritage Project
    • Visit/ Contact >
      • Visit us
      • Contact Us
      • Restaurant
    • Our Staff & Trustees
    • Community Programme
    • Room & Gallery Hire
    • News
  • Our Makers
    • Our Makers
    • Become a Maker Member
  • Support Us
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • Mailing list
    • Gift Service
    • Friends of the Guild
    • Sponsors
  • Blog
  • SHOP
  • D Shed