Crafty townsfolk team up to do battle against the mighty high street giants
(Gazette 28/6/2007)
by Louisa Felton

ALL FOR ONE: From left to right: Rose Scarborough (Re-Create) Paula Daddow of Berkhamsted Arts and Crafts and Naomi Walker of the Pottery Place.

Defiant high street traders in Berkhamsted are uniting to save high street stores from extinction as they battle the might of the superstores and big chains.

Although in direct competition, Berkhamsted Arts and Crafts, The Pottery Project and Recreate (formerly The Making Place) have come together to help promote each other's businesses, favouring this over the dominance of big companies forcing high street shops out of business.

Naomi Walker, owner of The Pottery Project based on Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted, came up with the idea because she was fed up with the number of shops closing down, being unable to compete with big superstores.
The mother of two said: "It can be quite lonely being an independent shop and we all want to help maintain the community spirit in Berkhamsted.
"We all struggle against big chain shops, so we do need to stick together so that the high street doesn't just become a thing of the past.
They have called their community-minded co-operative TriArt and have a wealth of workshops from pottery, glass painting and junk jewellery (jewellery made out of recycled materials) arranged throughout the year, which they will all be promoting in their respective shops.

They hope this new way of thinking will help drum up more business for the town and keep loyal customers rolling in.
Throughout July they will be manning a stall on the high street to try and spread the word about their workshops and at this year's Lions Fete they will be running a number of art and creative activities.

To further show their community spirit they will be donning their lipstick and trainers for the Hospice of St Francis fundraiser, Walk with the Stars- the women only 12-mile midnight walk on July 7.

For more information about the workshops they are running, visit their respective websites: www.art4crafts. co.uk (Berkhamsted Arts and Crafts) www.thepotteryproject.co.uk (The Pottery Project) and www.rosescarborough.co.uk (Re:create).