Whilst we’re not quite walking through a Winter wonderland just yet, December is here, and with it comes all of the excitement, anticipation and, let’s face it, stress(!) of Christmas. With the Gallery open right up until December 23rd that doesn’t leave us much time to do our festive shopping, so believe us when we say, we understand the pressures of planning at this time of year. There’s no time and the shops never have what you want in stock, making it all too tempting to take the easy way out and resort to shopping online.
With this in mind, we thought we’d offer a helping hand to everyone else working hard right up to Christmas Eve. This month, our Beach Hut article brings you all the must have tips on local, ethical, Christmas shopping!
One of the best places to grab creative gifts is a good old Christmas Fayre, and there’s a handful of these in Torbay! Our two top tips are the Brixham Heritage Museum Fayre on December 2nd and Torre Abbey’s Winter Fest running for two days from December 2nd to December 3rd. Both promise to be magical, with Winter Fest seeing Torre Abbey filled with craft stalls in the beautiful setting of the museum. We’ll be here with some of our crafty friends, so pop along to see some of the Artizan collection and maybe take home a little something local for Christmas. Alternatively, why not have a makers Christmas? A talented friend of Artizan, Steph Pillinger, will be running a jewellery making workshop on December 2nd from Torbay Artspace. She’ll be teaching a relatively new technique using eco-friendly metal clay, and at the end of the day you’ll take away a beautiful handmade piece for yourself or a unique gift for a loved one.
Finally, we must not forget Torbay’s wealth of independent retailers, all well-stocked for Christmas. If you’re a keen crafter, head over the Purple Valley Design and get knitting those festive Jumpers. Or, for those who like us are creatively challenged, you can still shop local. Cloudberry Lily over in Babbacombe have a gorgeous Christmas display and loads of beautiful gift ideas. The Cockington Court Craft Studios are all abuzz with activity and with bonus Christmas festivities on the first three weekends of December, it’s well worth a visit to the village. Our fellow Muddy Stilettos Finalists, Tooth and Claw should also not be missed over in Brixham if you want something a bit more niche, with luxurious home accessories imported into the English Riviera from alternative designer names. And if you’re looking for the kids, get their toys locally from our Lucius Street Friends at the Action Model Centre!
Of course don’t forget to stop by and see us! We’ll be breaking out the mince pies at Artizan for our final exhibition of the year, our HUGE Winter Open (November 28th to December 23rd). We’ve got over 50 artists joining us here for this one with an exhibition that promises to be so big, we’re holding two Artist Preview evenings (December 1st & 2nd 18:00-20:00).
So, join us and all our creative friends this Christmas. That’s the December Cultural line up, all that’s left for us to do is wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in January!
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