Craft in the Bay is the hidden gem of Cardiff Bay. Opened in 2002, it is easy to overlook this refurbished maritime shed at the bottom of Lloyd George Avenue especially in comparison to its more famous neighbour, the Millennium Centre.

Yet this gallery come activity centre, is a real Aladdin’s cave of objects. It’s exquisite gallery showcases artwork, metalwork, textiles, ceramics and unique furniture, all made in Wales by members of the Makers Guild in Wales.

The Makers Guild is a charitable organisation that not only owns and runs the gallery but also represents 74 craft-makers in Wales. As well as giving established and newly emerging talent a space to exhibit, the guild runs a large variety of workshops to allow the wider community greater access to new skills.

The charity says their aims: “are to advance education for the public benefit in the Visual Arts and Crafts in particular but not exclusively by exhibitions of high quality hand made crafts and the provision of workshop programmes”.

I was fortunate to see one of these workshops in action. Held on the second Saturday of every month, Craft in the Bay plays host to Suzen Millodot who runs a workshop making jewellery with ornamental knotting.Mrs Millodot learnt the art of ornamental knots in Hong Kong and has written four books on the subject.

The ladies taking part in the workshop were a mixture of people new to the craft centre and people who had been coming to it for years. Most of the ladies initially started the workshop for personal pleasure, however some have used the skills they have learnt to do some commercial work.

Mrs Sue Watkins, one of the craft centre regulars said: “when visitors from abroad come to Cardiff, I bring them here. The standard of craft is excellent”.

Mrs Watkins added, “Alot of classes are closing down, they have to make cuts and the arts are seen as non-essential services.” But she states the workshops are “the one time I forget about all my problems”.

Mrs Helen Weston, another budding craft enthusiast said: “the majority of people who use this service are retired”. However Mrs Weston who used to work for the Department of Work and Pensions added “if you are unemployed, something like this would be a good opportunity to go out and socialise, as you do tend to lose some social skills while your out of work which makes you harder to employ. These classes are like art therapy.”

The ladies all agreed that the centre was a real asset to Cardiff, but not enough people know about it. So next time your in Cardiff Bay pop in and have a look, you may be pleasantly surprised.

For further information on upcoming workshops – click here

For further information regarding ornamental knotting and jewellery – click here

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