Burgess Hill artist opens pop-up in Brighton shopping centre
Cecelia’s Crafts, based in Burgess Hill, has opened a pop-up shop in Brighton's Churchill Square in the hopes of making crafting more accessible
Ruth, the founder of Cecelia’s Crafts, has always loved crochet and knitting. Today, October 27, her business opened in the famous Brighton shopping centre, with the hope of making her passion more accessible for everyone to explore.
The founder spoke on how she left work a few years ago due to disability and decided to turn her passion for crafting into a business that could make a positive difference in the community.
Cecelia’s Crafts is named after Ruth’s grandmother, whom she describes as truly amazing at bringing people together, something Ruth hopes to achieve with this business.
The business started with the owner selling her handmade crochet plushies online and at local market, which has now grown into a business with a much bigger vision.
Cecelia’s Crafts aims to make crafting more accessible to everyone, particularly disabled and neurodivergent people, while supporting small UK businesses and sourcing high-quality craft supplies from UK-based brands wherever possible.
"Alongside our own handmade items and craft kits, we sell a range of craft supplies and items other makers. We have also started taking donations from the local community of fabric that would have otherwise gone to waste, so they can be reused and given a new lease of life whilst reducing the amount of waste”, said Ruth.
"At our pop-up shop in Churchill Square, Brighton, we’re also renting shelves to local crafters to showcase and sell their work, including makers who are disabled or neurodivergent.
"We want to continue to support this community beyond the shop as well.
"This pop-up shop is our first step in what we have planned for the business and the impact we hope it will have. In the future we want to continue to expand availability of different workshops and community groups, bring a variety of crafts to the local community and support local makers.
“For me, Cecelia’s Crafts is about more than selling craft supplies. It’s about building an inclusive crafting community, supporting independent makers and helping more people discover the joy of being creative.”
Cecelia’s Crafts soft opened today (Tuesday October 27) and will open throughout the October half-term from 10am-8pm at Unit 21a, Churchill Square, Brighton, before officially opening November 1st.