The last few months have seen something of an arts and crafts renaissance hit the high street area in the centre of Liskeard.
In the summer, Unique Crafts Cornwall and The Scented Temple opened on Fore Street, offering a varied array of Cornish handmade gifts and luxury treats. Shortly afterwards, they were joined by The Sweet Spot, specializing in retro confectionary and local crafts. This autumn, the DAK Art Gallery opened at the lower end of Pike Street, selling paintings, decorative items, glassware and mosaic art.
The Scented Temple moved to larger premises on Fore Street, the town’s traditional hub of independent retail enterprises. The hand-crafted home-fragrance business is owned by local entrepreneur Jo Wallis.
“It’s really exciting to be expanding the business so quickly” said Jo. “And it’s great to see the ‘to let’ signs disappearing all across Liskeard’s town-centre shopping streets.”
Meanwhile, the latest retail establishment due in December to open its doors on Fore Street is Kids’ Clobber. The new shop will stock a large range of upcycled children’s clothes, along with work by local craftspeople.
The business is the brainchild of mother and foster-carer Fern Lief. Fern has previously worked in cooperation with local charities and says that she sees her new venture very much as a form of social enterprise.
“When I lived up-country, I’d buy things for my daughter from a preloved clothing store. It was wonderful – really nice clothes at affordable prices. I always wanted to set up something like that myself” Fern says.
“After the pandemic was over, I felt the time was right to start working on this. Then, in recent months, the cost-of-living crisis has made it so much more urgent that local families can still afford to buy good-quality clothes for their kids” she adds. “It also reduces waste and lets us do our bit to help save the planet.”
Along with Unique Crafts Cornwall, The Scented Temple, The Sweet Spot and the DAK Art Gallery, Fern’s business is a member of Liskeard’s Market Makers group of artists, craftspeople and creative enterprises.
The group is managed by Dr Alec Charles on behalf of Liskeard Town Council and supported by European Structural & Investment Funds and Cornwall Council.
“With Christmas coming up, it’s wonderful to see the growth of these independent businesses in the heart of town. Along with the Santa crafting sessions run by our friends at Pot Stars Studio, Liskeard is really becoming a great retail destination for shoppers to stock up on beautiful, affordable and truly unique gifts and treats this festive season” said Alec.
“These new shops stock the work of brilliant local artists like Kirsty Freeman, Lee Rendle, Karen Burden, Dee Knight and Laura Welsh. It’s well worth popping in to take a look” he added.
Market Makers will be running a Craft Fayre at the Liskeard Public Hall on the afternoon of Saturday, December 3 to showcase the work of these local artists and creative businesses.