Our Mission Statement
At the Workhouse Chapel we set our standards high - sometimes it's not easy to keep to our own rules - sometimes we don't know that we've broken them - but we are trying. Yes, yes, go on, say it.... it's not like we haven't heard it before;-)
Making by Hand is at the 💕 of who we are and what we do - we will defend our right to Make by Hand to the bitter end.
Everything we sell (apart from some printed greetings cards) is properly Made by Hand by fabulously skilled and hugely inventive craftspeople.
We Make with love, passion and commitment. Most of us work with natural, local, and/or recycled materials. This isn't about preaching that our way is right, or best, but about sharing with you how massively important is is to us to treat our world kindly and to keep our impact as small as possible. It is an enormous privilege every time someone makes a deliberate choice to buy something we have Made. We would love to gently raise awareness about environmental and societal issues through the work we Make, the materials we use and the processes we employ.
Our packaging is recycled or recyclable - preferably both. If we use plastic bubblewrap, you can be sure it's been used before, and we hope will be used again. We love it best when peeps bring their own bags and we are very happy for you to bring back the packaging we gave you, so we can use it again - and again - and again...
Lots of cake. Oh sorry - did I write that out loud? 🧁
We want to Make, and find, gorgeous goodies for you, our most important customer...
We want to thrill you with the downright wonderfulness of what this lovely bunch of folk can dream up...
We want you to feel welcomed, comfortable and right at home in the Workhouse Chapel. xxxx
And now a little pome wot I wrote about being
Accidentally Green
When you work with your hands
and invent with your heart
it's a losing battle to try and stay smart
Strange passions demand stranger fashions
so we recycle, reuse, make do and mend
and folk just think "Artist🙄" - so bang on trend
When the frost bites and the east wind blows cruel
you won't find us wasting scarce fossil fuel
Three jumpers, two vests, long johns and a hat
a scarf, salopettes and, yes, we look fat
and the bulk makes it nigh on impossible to bend
But hey!
We're accidentally green - we're bang on trend
It's not that we're nosy - we're just keen to know
Where was that clay dug?
Where did that tree grow?
Why is the sea that certain shade of greeny-blue
and because we care, we raise awareness too
It's how the curious mind has always been
Turns out that now we're unwittingly green
We're a bit of a womble - always hoping to find
an interesting thing that's been left behind
by the everyday folk - and then when we do
we break and reshape, remake it anew and we add to the hoard of useful board
to the sack of wool that's already full
Pile up the wood that might be good
We carefully store each odd and end
'cos guess what?!!
Yep! We're green - we're so on trend
The tools of our trade are well worn and trusted
Talk about patina - these are encrusted
with history - and memories of craftsmen long gone
And when our time comes, we'll pass them on
to those that we taught, and the skills will survive
just maybe they'll help keep our planet alive
We make because we have to - it's in our DNA
it's written in our genes - no choice-
it just won't go away
Please don't try to stop us if you're any kind of friend
Just remember that we're green and accidentally bang on trend