For the last five years, Nineteen on Alexandra Road has been an integral part of the Alexander Road community of shops. They were one of the first business’ that I wrote about when I launched my website on October 4th and I was really sad to learn that after much soul searching they would be closing their doors on Sunday 3rd February. Sad but not surprised since I knew that between them in 2018 Victoria and Becky had enjoyed a wedding, a new house and the arrival of beautiful baby Ava.
Nevertheless, it must have been a very hard decision because the shop which was in such a stunning setting was hugely popular with both locals and visitors to Clevedon and housed a fabulous range of vintage, rustic furniture and hand painted furniture as well as a beautiful range of handmade homeware and gifts from independent makers. And the workshops! How popular were these! If ever you wanted to indulge your creative side or offer a creative experience to a family member or friend then this was the place to go. Many all consuming hobbies were born in that little studio space at the rear of the shop.
Having been so successful and so passionate about what they had created, the girls gave a lot of thought about how they could continue to flourish professionally and creatively whilst enjoying their very exciting change of circumstances. And so Nineteen – Gather and Create – a seasonally curated calendar to bring you inspiration and creativity for an artisan lifestyle was born.
The workshops will still be an essential element of what is on offer and will take place in different venues in the community. Here’s a sneak preview of what’s on offer March to May.
They will be hosting four workshops on Saturday 2nd March at St John’s Hall, Hillside Road. These are: planting an open terrarium, making hoop woven wall hanging, learning the art of mono-print and spring inspired paper cutting.
On Saturday 6th April, they will once again be at St John’s Hall, this time offering seasonal flower arranging – hand-tie bouquets, screen printed tote bags – silhouette designs, lino cutting for beginners and macramé knotting to make a wall-planter.
There’s a change of venue on Saturday 11th May to Clevedon Community Centre and Princes Hall where you can learn about modern embroidery and make a handmade cushion and/or do or do some seasonal flower arranging.
On Saturday 25th May, they are at Sunhill House in Clevedon exploring collage which I really like the sound of. You have the chance to create your own collage designs with handmade papers and gathered materials. If you want to know a little bit more about collage have a look at this on line article from AnOther which has a little bit about its hisstory and presents a collection of some of the best collage art. The collage and macramé workshops are all day but the rest are half day and there are reduced prices for anyone who wants to splash out and do more than one. All the details are on the website here and it’s very user friendly and accessible.
Something completely new are the three seasonal events which come under the umbrella of ‘Gather’. Victoria and Becky strongly believe that in modern life finding creativity for yourself brings both well-being and mindfulness into being. Craft slows the pace of the world and can bring enjoyment and a sense of fulfilment to the day. It allows us to express and process emotions and focus on the moment; it can be a real catharsis for the difficult, stressful periods in our life that we all experience from time to time.
These events will be held at Sunhill House, a beautiful Victorian House with light-filled rooms and large windows looking out onto the surrounding public gardens, a perfect setting for a morning or afternoon of ‘me- time’ a chance to relax, explore some crafts and socialise.
The first event is Saturday 23rd March ‘Creativity for Well-being.’
There will be a series of mini workshops which you can dip in and out of. Stephanie Eastwood, the florist will be there showing us how to bring plants into the home in a sustainable way. Victoria herself will be focusing on journaling or the daily practice of drawing to observe the everyday which can bring mindfulness and gratitude into your day. Liv Handley, the fibre artist will be showcasing some fun and easy crafting techniques with everyday, accessible materials. There will be the chance to make a key-ring or a wall hanging using knotting, weaving & tassel making.
There will also be the opportunity to discuss creativity and well-being with:
Tina Huckle who is a reiki practitioner, Helen Evans, a well-being coach, Chris Briggs a masseur and Sue Saunders who is a Bowen practitioner
They will be hosting a small pop up shop on the day including materials and products by Anon Design who are running their hand-lettering workshop before and after the event for those who want to make a day of it.
The second ‘Gather’ event ‘Bloom and Flourish with Creativity’ takes place in June and will follow a similar format but the workshop which takes place before or after is a Floral Watercolours workshop with Jessica Priest. The third seasonal event is Saturday 26th October and details of this will be available soon.
On the subject of pop-up shops Nineteen will be returning to Clevedon for three events in 2019 and setting up shop with a curated selection of sellers that represent the essence of what everyone loved at the Alexander Road. The dates are: Saturday 11th May Saturday 21st September and Saturday 14th December. We’ll make sure that all these dates are in the ‘What’s on?’ section of https://facesofclevedon.com/forthcoming-events/ The pop-up shops will complement their on-line shop which will be up and running very soon.
Alongside creating inspirational workshops and events for everyone, Victoria and Becky have added an additional element to their concept which is the idea of adding a creative workshop to another event such as a hen party, a celebration or just a social gathering of friends. In an era of encouraging healthy life styles which includes reducing stress and encouraging mindfulness, adding creativity to an event may well prove to be very popular.
2019 is going to be a year of transformation for Victoria and Becky, as they take Nineteen in a direction which allows them more space for personal creativity, well-being and time with their growing families. Faces of Clevedon wishes them every success.
If you’d like to explore other artistic opportunities in Clevedon you might like to read the blog post on Clevedon Art Club which you will find here:
You should also watch out for a post featuring Jonathan Camp the Art Historian who is based in Clevedon, and does the wonderful ‘Art Unwrapped’ talks as well as seasonal talks on the Pier.
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