Diss craft skills charity launches bid to buy building

Charity chair Janine Oxley said she would be "devastated" if they could not save the arts and crafts space

A charity teaching traditional craft skills has launched a fundraising campaign to secure its future.

Designermakers21 has been in Diss, Norfolk for 10 years, providing a hub for craftspeople as well as a venue for exhibitions and workshops.

The freehold of the building has been put up for sale and the charity behind the project said it needed to raise £350,000 to buy it and for repairs.

It has launched its "Let's Buy This Building" campaign.

Janine Oxley, chair of the Designermakers Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), said if the charity could not raise the funds, it would mark the end of the crafts space.

"I would feel devastated by that because actually over the 10 years, it has become more than just a place for craftspeople to have their studios, it's been about the connections that we've made," she said.

Designermakers21 provides a hub for craftspeople as well as a venue for exhibitions and workshops

Ms Oxley said the charity's work was to educate members of the public in traditional and contemporary craft processes, through workshops and demonstrations.

At the grade II listed building, 21 Nicholas Street, it also has open access studios where members of the public can talk to the craftspeople and find out more about their work.

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Ms Oxley said the charity also worked with schools, vulnerable people and the local community.

"It's not just about the community here, it's about what this community actually gives to the wider community of Diss, of Norfolk and East Anglia," she said.

Mike Fenton, one of the craftspeople based at Designermakers21, said it was an "attraction"

Mike Fenton, one of the craftspeople based there, said it would be a "real shame" if it went.

"We're an attraction," he said. "People like coming here experience of making things and learning new skills."

The charity said it had this year to raise the funds.