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West Street - “The Craft Cottage”
The Craft Cottage
West Street, Rochford, Essex, SS4 1BE
01268 786162 & 01702 540888
www.claycottage.co.uk
email: info@claycottage.co.uk
West Street, Rochford, Essex, SS4 1BE
01268 786162 & 01702 540888
www.claycottage.co.uk
email: info@claycottage.co.uk
Interview with Nicola Perrott of the Craft Cottage, West Street Rochford
(18th November 2010)
Rochford Life: Nicola, you have more than one of these shops. I believe?
Nicola: Yes, this one is the Craft Cottage which is our second one. The Clay Cottage in Rayleigh has been going ten years now and we took over the Craft Cottage on 1st April this year. Everyone tends to call this ‘The Pottery Place’ or people say “I’m going painting.” and people know that this means here.
R L: How would you summarise what you do here?
Nicola: It’s a nice little studio for ceramic painting. We also offer glass painting as well. At the other studio we’ve got three potter’s wheels where people can come in and have lessons or play and just go on it for fun. We have lots of families who come in and do that. So basically it’s ceramic painting for gifts.
R L: It’s a purely painting here and not pottery?
Nicola: We don’t actually do the pottery here. We have two large workshops, one at home and one at the other studio where we make all the moulds ourselves. My son does all that so we actually make most of what you see here. The only things we buy in are the plates, mugs and bowls. Everything else is made by us. Now we have the two studios we are constantly, all the time pouring the moulds. The three kilns are on constantly, one after the other. We can’t have them all on together because they take so much electricity.
R L: What sort of groups do you cater for?
Nicola: We do birthday parties, we do hen nights, we do ladies’ nights where I design a nice platter and everyone comes down to paint these. Refreshments are always on the house. They come here but we also go out a lot, to Brownies, to organisations like that. We do a lot with the Macmillan Nurses when they have their seminars and we get asked to go out to them for their break time so we sit down and do something with them. We’re involved with the Wishing Well Foundation where the terminally ill children come in. We just had a little boy come down recently. He made things on the Potter’s Wheel and he and his sister also did painting.
R L: So you go out a lot then?
Nicola: Oh yes, we go out to Christmas lights, we go out to schools, and nursery’s and play groups, doing hand prints on baubles or just doing painting with the kids, anything, because it is a lovely craft to do, and everyone gets something at the end of it. When we go out to a school fete or Christmas Bazaar, we pay between £15 and £20 for a stall there or a table and then at the end of the day we give 10% of our takings for the day to the school as well, which on some days can be a really good profit.
RL: What are the different sorts of paint used?
Nicola: You have two choices with the ceramics. You can either do them in acrylic paints – and the kids in particular love that for they love the glitter which they can put on – but for the more serious ones, and the kids do it as well, there is the fired paint and that goes in the kiln after the glazing is done and comes out nice and shiny and, of course, is actually usable. Everything in here, mugs, plates etc., is 100% usable with that finish.
Acrylic paint is taken away on the day but the fired paint is then glazed, dipped in the glaze, then dried and then it goes in the kiln at the other studio. At the moment it’s about ten days because we are so busy.
R L: So you are that busy?
Nicola: Yes, yesterday I started at 8.30 in the morning and eventually left the studio at 10.50pm at night. But that is regular from now until Christmas; it’s between ten and fifteen hours a day, but it really is a nice job. We have ‘Children in Need’ on Friday, so that will be a big one, and we’ve got Ladies’ nights and Brownies lined up. Last Friday we had eighty two Guides, Brownies and leaders in the other studio, all in different sittings. That was very busy and of course once they go I’ve got their work to finish off, because I tidy up people’s work if they ask me to, like doing eyes or names or writing on things. Birthday parties are very popular as well.
R L: How many children will you cope with here in Craft Cottage in Rochford?
Nicola: Twenty. With all the chairs and tables set out properly. The other studio holds thirty two.
R L: Looking at the range of things you have here, how do you decide what to make?
Nicola: Lots of things are often seasonal, plus I’ve been doing this ten years now so I know what the kids like in particular. The favourites are the ice cream cones, the cup cakes, and the fairies are a big hit. Disney characters also, and then this time of year it is snow men and particularly Teddy Bears. These ones can be made into a lovely project because they can paint them as normal, or there is a little stand that goes with them and with that stand we have music boxes on which to mount them and then the whole thing goes round and round. The kids love it because it is something new and they’ve done it from start to finish.
R L: So what, probably, is the bottom age for children doing this painting?
Nicola: Three years old, but it is open to anybody! Yesterday we had lots of children come in with their parents to do handprints on plates and mugs and baubles for Christmas presents for Grandparents and, of course, with handprints we do them from birth upwards. At the other end of the scale we have a lady who comes in here who is ninety and you wouldn’t think it; she is so sprightly. We actually have a lot of elderly people come in because it’s something anyone can do.
R L: How do they know when to come in? Do you have a timetable?
Nicola: Yes, the Craft Cottage is open from 10.00am until 6.00pm every day, and on Saturday, 10.00am until 4.00pm and then Sunday it is closed. The other studio is 9.30am to 6.00pm, and we do two late nights, Mondays and Wednesdays, at the other studio until 9.00pm, but it tends to go over for no one gets out on time. The Craft Cottage is open on Wednesday until 9.30pm; that’s a busy time, for a lot of ladies come down for that. It’s one of these jobs where you are sitting and painting and time just goes and you don’t realise it. It’s normally a two hour session but if it goes over it doesn’t matter.
R L: How much? What do you charge?
Nicola: From £4.50 for a two-hour session. For people who come every week, you pay £4.50 every time you come and you choose what you want to do off these shelves here and then you work on it for the time stated. You can buy it outright if you prefer, so smaller things on the bottom shelf, they can do that on the day and take it home, or have it glazed and pick it up the week after. Everything is priced from £4.50 to £12 if they come in off the street and paint it at one go. Other than that they can work on it for up to two weeks. Everything else you have to buy and work on it because they have been bought in and are a little more expensive.
R L: Do you do this on your own?
Nicola: No, my son works with me full-time, making all the moulds and helping in the studio and he’s the one who does the Potter’s Wheel, and then there is Lorraine who works here for me as well. My step daughter helps out as well, and I also have two Saturday girls. They will also come in when needed. Saturday is packed. We also have a Children’s Club every night from 4.00 to 6.00 after school and that is £4.50 for two hours and that includes a drink, and some people look on it as cheap baby sitting! They choose what they want to do and then work on it in the time stated. They get help with it if they get stuck, and some guidance (all our people are CRB checked). Or parents can stay with their children and do it with them. It is a thing that families can do together.
We also do wedding signature plates and Christening plates as well. We do lovely wedding platters and they can be taken off to a wedding or reception, or Christening or Birthdays.
R L: You are clearly the artist? Are you a potter as well?
Nicola: Yes, I’m the artist but my son is good at both, but I think we are both artistic. We also do Crafty Monkeys which is a thing for pre-school children and their parents or carers. There’s all different activities on the table for them to do and they work together, mother and child, creating bits and pieces and that is £5 for one and a half hour sessions. We also do a lot with ‘special needs’ who come in with their carers every Tuesday. We go out to schools doing Christmas fetes and Summer fetes as well.
R L: Lorraine, are you an artist or a pottery person?
(18th November 2010)
Rochford Life: Nicola, you have more than one of these shops. I believe?
Nicola: Yes, this one is the Craft Cottage which is our second one. The Clay Cottage in Rayleigh has been going ten years now and we took over the Craft Cottage on 1st April this year. Everyone tends to call this ‘The Pottery Place’ or people say “I’m going painting.” and people know that this means here.
R L: How would you summarise what you do here?
Nicola: It’s a nice little studio for ceramic painting. We also offer glass painting as well. At the other studio we’ve got three potter’s wheels where people can come in and have lessons or play and just go on it for fun. We have lots of families who come in and do that. So basically it’s ceramic painting for gifts.
R L: It’s a purely painting here and not pottery?
Nicola: We don’t actually do the pottery here. We have two large workshops, one at home and one at the other studio where we make all the moulds ourselves. My son does all that so we actually make most of what you see here. The only things we buy in are the plates, mugs and bowls. Everything else is made by us. Now we have the two studios we are constantly, all the time pouring the moulds. The three kilns are on constantly, one after the other. We can’t have them all on together because they take so much electricity.
R L: What sort of groups do you cater for?
Nicola: We do birthday parties, we do hen nights, we do ladies’ nights where I design a nice platter and everyone comes down to paint these. Refreshments are always on the house. They come here but we also go out a lot, to Brownies, to organisations like that. We do a lot with the Macmillan Nurses when they have their seminars and we get asked to go out to them for their break time so we sit down and do something with them. We’re involved with the Wishing Well Foundation where the terminally ill children come in. We just had a little boy come down recently. He made things on the Potter’s Wheel and he and his sister also did painting.
R L: So you go out a lot then?
Nicola: Oh yes, we go out to Christmas lights, we go out to schools, and nursery’s and play groups, doing hand prints on baubles or just doing painting with the kids, anything, because it is a lovely craft to do, and everyone gets something at the end of it. When we go out to a school fete or Christmas Bazaar, we pay between £15 and £20 for a stall there or a table and then at the end of the day we give 10% of our takings for the day to the school as well, which on some days can be a really good profit.
RL: What are the different sorts of paint used?
Nicola: You have two choices with the ceramics. You can either do them in acrylic paints – and the kids in particular love that for they love the glitter which they can put on – but for the more serious ones, and the kids do it as well, there is the fired paint and that goes in the kiln after the glazing is done and comes out nice and shiny and, of course, is actually usable. Everything in here, mugs, plates etc., is 100% usable with that finish.
Acrylic paint is taken away on the day but the fired paint is then glazed, dipped in the glaze, then dried and then it goes in the kiln at the other studio. At the moment it’s about ten days because we are so busy.
R L: So you are that busy?
Nicola: Yes, yesterday I started at 8.30 in the morning and eventually left the studio at 10.50pm at night. But that is regular from now until Christmas; it’s between ten and fifteen hours a day, but it really is a nice job. We have ‘Children in Need’ on Friday, so that will be a big one, and we’ve got Ladies’ nights and Brownies lined up. Last Friday we had eighty two Guides, Brownies and leaders in the other studio, all in different sittings. That was very busy and of course once they go I’ve got their work to finish off, because I tidy up people’s work if they ask me to, like doing eyes or names or writing on things. Birthday parties are very popular as well.
R L: How many children will you cope with here in Craft Cottage in Rochford?
Nicola: Twenty. With all the chairs and tables set out properly. The other studio holds thirty two.
R L: Looking at the range of things you have here, how do you decide what to make?
Nicola: Lots of things are often seasonal, plus I’ve been doing this ten years now so I know what the kids like in particular. The favourites are the ice cream cones, the cup cakes, and the fairies are a big hit. Disney characters also, and then this time of year it is snow men and particularly Teddy Bears. These ones can be made into a lovely project because they can paint them as normal, or there is a little stand that goes with them and with that stand we have music boxes on which to mount them and then the whole thing goes round and round. The kids love it because it is something new and they’ve done it from start to finish.
R L: So what, probably, is the bottom age for children doing this painting?
Nicola: Three years old, but it is open to anybody! Yesterday we had lots of children come in with their parents to do handprints on plates and mugs and baubles for Christmas presents for Grandparents and, of course, with handprints we do them from birth upwards. At the other end of the scale we have a lady who comes in here who is ninety and you wouldn’t think it; she is so sprightly. We actually have a lot of elderly people come in because it’s something anyone can do.
R L: How do they know when to come in? Do you have a timetable?
Nicola: Yes, the Craft Cottage is open from 10.00am until 6.00pm every day, and on Saturday, 10.00am until 4.00pm and then Sunday it is closed. The other studio is 9.30am to 6.00pm, and we do two late nights, Mondays and Wednesdays, at the other studio until 9.00pm, but it tends to go over for no one gets out on time. The Craft Cottage is open on Wednesday until 9.30pm; that’s a busy time, for a lot of ladies come down for that. It’s one of these jobs where you are sitting and painting and time just goes and you don’t realise it. It’s normally a two hour session but if it goes over it doesn’t matter.
R L: How much? What do you charge?
Nicola: From £4.50 for a two-
R L: Do you do this on your own?
Nicola: No, my son works with me full-
We also do wedding signature plates and Christening plates as well. We do lovely wedding platters and they can be taken off to a wedding or reception, or Christening or Birthdays.
R L: You are clearly the artist? Are you a potter as well?
Nicola: Yes, I’m the artist but my son is good at both, but I think we are both artistic. We also do Crafty Monkeys which is a thing for pre-
R L: Lorraine, are you an artist or a pottery person?
Lorraine: I have done pottery and I do painting and I do glass painting as well, and making jewellery as well, because I used to work for Julie down the road. (See JJW Designs)
R L: Do you have to be particularly artistic to do this?
Nicola: Oh, no. We have a couple of ladies with MS and so they can’t hold the brush well but we have specialist paints that they can put on and it looks absolutely fabulous, because they don’t have to do all the fine detail, but if they do want something with detail, then they’ll simply ask one of us to help finish off for them, and perhaps tidy up the edges, and their products can be lovely as well.
Lorraine: Yes, there is a lady with the shakes; it’s a nervous thing. She used to be very good at art so she found it very frustrating, but she comes in and she does bowls and her work turns out lovely. It brings her confidence back.
R L: Roughly, on average, how many people do you have pass through in a week.
Lorraine: We have fifty regulars. Some come fortnightly or may have holidays off and some of the older ladies, during school term will be looking after grandchildren. Yes, we’ve got about fifty adults and then the children on top of that.
Nicola: At the other studio it tends to be a lot more. Bear in mind we’ve only taken this one over in April and we are still trying to build the numbers and we’re working on that.
R L: Well it sounds like you are catering for lots of groups and ages and that feels very good. Thank you very much for giving me so much of your time.
Nicola: Oh, no. We have a couple of ladies with MS and so they can’t hold the brush well but we have specialist paints that they can put on and it looks absolutely fabulous, because they don’t have to do all the fine detail, but if they do want something with detail, then they’ll simply ask one of us to help finish off for them, and perhaps tidy up the edges, and their products can be lovely as well.
Lorraine: Yes, there is a lady with the shakes; it’s a nervous thing. She used to be very good at art so she found it very frustrating, but she comes in and she does bowls and her work turns out lovely. It brings her confidence back.
R L: Roughly, on average, how many people do you have pass through in a week.
Lorraine: We have fifty regulars. Some come fortnightly or may have holidays off and some of the older ladies, during school term will be looking after grandchildren. Yes, we’ve got about fifty adults and then the children on top of that.
Nicola: At the other studio it tends to be a lot more. Bear in mind we’ve only taken this one over in April and we are still trying to build the numbers and we’re working on that.
R L: Well it sounds like you are catering for lots of groups and ages and that feels very good. Thank you very much for giving me so much of your time.
Lorraine & Nicola
