Summer of celebrating crafts in Midtown Makers
We have had a busy summer here in Midtown Makers Gift Shop, Ballymena. Our building's exterior got a fresh lick of paint and new banners installed to promote the Visitor Information Centre.
This was our first summer as the Visitor Information Centre for Ballymena and we welcomed visitors from far and wide - France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA, as well as those closer to home from other parts of Northern Ireland, Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Many were here to trace family history, others passing through on trips to other towns. We were able to direct tourists to local attractions and Jim was always ready with a story or two! Visitors appreciated the handmade souvenirs such as prints and cards by our Artists featuring local landscapes, and keyrings and coasters printed with Ballymena's historic seven towers.
Creative workshops were enjoyed most Saturdays in classes such as crochet, acrylic painting, wet felting, stained glass making, and as part of our August Craft Month events - screen printing on ceramic bunting.
Our August Craft Month Showcase of Traditional Crafts was a massive success thanks to all our members who took time out to demonstrate, chat and run taster sessions of their crafts - Shelley Steele, Linda Wray, Maria Hunter, Pamela Turtle, and Sally White.
It was a pleasure to welcome Ards Bobbin Lace Makers to Midtown Makers for the event, it was fascinating to see how the intricate lace is made by such talented ladies.
We were joined by Tom Gordon Mayor of Mid and East Antrim and his wife The Lady Mayoress, who engaged with all the makers and had the opportunity to learn more about the Midtown Makers project. It was lovely to see the event so well attended and by so many different ages and backgrounds. One of the highlights of the evening was the jam and preserves tasting by one of our newest members 'A Wee Favour' - friends Dyvonne and Judith. They baked scones and handed out samples of their amazing jams.
The weather was warm and the sun was still shinning for Alastair Donaghy's (Ballymena's local tour guide) Walk and Talk. The group of ten started out from Midtown Makers before taking a dander around the town to learn more about the history of Ballymena. They along with they other attendees of the Showcase were able to view Jim's exhibition 'The Linen Legacy of Ballymena', which was on display in the shop with old photos of the town and well researched written pieces to accompany them.
The feedback from our August Craft Month NI events was lovely to receive:
"Thank you, I thought it was a successful evening. It gave me the opportunity to see different crafts in action, meet makers and planted the seed for crafts would like to try out".
"My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon making printed bunting with Áine! We had another lovely trip up to the shop to collect them last weekend".
Click through the slide show to see the photos from the Showcase of Traditional Crafts:
The window displays looked their best after being dressed for a teddy bears picnic by member / artist and designer Jordain Molloy Gillen.
We welcomed new members in children's books category Rebekah and Hilary, in card making Julie, Marbeth and Maria, in food and drink Dyvonne & Judith and Breda. And last but not least in woodwork Richard and Julie. They are now all set up on their shelves and have definitely added something different and new to the shop.
In August, Midtown Makers Gift Shop participated in the High Street Heroes awards organised by Retail NI. The public cast their votes for their favourite shops across various categories, and we secured a top 3 position in the generalist retailer category. This was an outstanding result, especially given the competition spanned all of Northern Ireland.
Ballymena BID organised a brilliant day for Ballymena's 400th anniversary on 25th August, commemorating the day in 1626 when King Charles I signed the charter granting the Adair family rights to hold a weekly market and two annual fairs in the town. To join in the celebrations we held a game to find the 2 Ballymena 400 mugs hiding in the window displays, and invited everyone to make a card for Ballymena's 400th birthday. Customers loved the game, adults and children alike! We displayed the cards at the front of the shop for anyone visiting us to see, and posted pictures of them on Facebook for our followers to pick a winner.
As summer drew to an end we looked forward to new workshops in finger knitting, lino printing and fused glass making, bookable on our workshops page. We also were getting prepared for our first de-stash market and our annual MacMillan Coffee morning.
Midtown Makers is now getting into cosy season with decorative pumpkins arriving into the shop from our makers, along with autumn wreaths and woolly scarves for cooler days ahead.
We are open from Monday to Saturday 10am -4pm.
51-53 Church Street, Ballymena
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