New Artizan Cafe & Creative Space, opening in Harrogate very soon!
There's something very exciting taking shape in the heart of Harrogate town centre : our new Café & Creative Space! The Artizan Café will provide supported training and hands-on work experience for young adults with learning disabilities. Once members have achieved a sufficient level of competency, they will also have placements in other businesses around the town, sensitizing local employers to their talents and employability, as well as providing them with valuable added experience. Harrogate has a high number of eating establishments, food producers, small businesses and independent shops, all of which report that they struggle to find adequate numbers of skilled, reliable staff. With this big gap in the labour market, participants gaining work experience in the new cafe may confidently expect to be able to fill such roles once they have finished their training with Artizan.
The new café will have a slight Latin American influence in the menu, to reflect the charity’s connection with projects in Ecuador and Peru and all hot drinks, sugar and chocolate will be fair trade. So customers will be able to enjoy an excellent experience, whilst knowing they are supporting fair trade producers and providing training and experience for young adults with learning disabilities. (You'll find us on Cambridge Road opposite the old Post Office).
As Susie says “At Artizan International, everyone we’re involved with is on a journey of transformation. For all our differently-able participants, locally and further afield; it's a journey from invisible to visible, from isolation to community, from the margins to the centre, from unskilled to skilled. For the communities we touch; it's a journey towards a more inclusive society, where everyone is welcomed, respected and valued as creative members of an inspiring whole”.
There are some great volunteering opportunities coming up at the new Artizan café and creative space and you can find more details of these by contacting their Volunteer Coordinator, Sarah Davis at volunteering@artizaninternational.org
The Café is inspired by a similar model set up by Artizan International’s Director (Susie Hart MBE), who previously established a restaurant in Tanzania, entirely staffed by differently-able chefs, waiters and waitresses who had been trained at the centre. The high quality of the food and service had a hugely positive effect on attitudes towards differently-able people in the local community and the restaurant won the Telegraph award for the “Best British Run Restaurant Overseas in the World'' three years in a row. After an initial two-year period whilst the project was being established and the staff trained, the restaurant became completely financially self-sustainable. Many trainees were also employed in other local catering businesses, something that would have been unthinkable previously.
If you'd like to find out more about opportunities at the café, do get in touch with Liz Cluderay at liz.cluderay@artizaninternational.org
The new café will have a slight Latin American influence in the menu, to reflect the charity’s connection with projects in Ecuador and Peru and all hot drinks, sugar and chocolate will be fair trade. So customers will be able to enjoy an excellent experience, whilst knowing they are supporting fair trade producers and providing training and experience for young adults with learning disabilities. (You'll find us on Cambridge Road opposite the old Post Office).
As Susie says “At Artizan International, everyone we’re involved with is on a journey of transformation. For all our differently-able participants, locally and further afield; it's a journey from invisible to visible, from isolation to community, from the margins to the centre, from unskilled to skilled. For the communities we touch; it's a journey towards a more inclusive society, where everyone is welcomed, respected and valued as creative members of an inspiring whole”.
There are some great volunteering opportunities coming up at the new Artizan café and creative space and you can find more details of these by contacting their Volunteer Coordinator, Sarah Davis at volunteering@artizaninternational.org
The Café is inspired by a similar model set up by Artizan International’s Director (Susie Hart MBE), who previously established a restaurant in Tanzania, entirely staffed by differently-able chefs, waiters and waitresses who had been trained at the centre. The high quality of the food and service had a hugely positive effect on attitudes towards differently-able people in the local community and the restaurant won the Telegraph award for the “Best British Run Restaurant Overseas in the World'' three years in a row. After an initial two-year period whilst the project was being established and the staff trained, the restaurant became completely financially self-sustainable. Many trainees were also employed in other local catering businesses, something that would have been unthinkable previously.
If you'd like to find out more about opportunities at the café, do get in touch with Liz Cluderay at liz.cluderay@artizaninternational.org
Creative Space
The Creative Space on the ground floor of our café will host an exciting range of crafts workshops: therapeutic sessions for differently-able people, plus a diverse range of workshops for the general public too. Sessions available to the public will include mosaics, wreath making, kids art workshops and so much more! For our differently-able adults and children we have crafts sessions that include mosaics, visual arts, & Artizan Organics candles and cosmetics making (hosted in the special studio above our shop on Oxford Street). For more info, drop in and/or watch this space!
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A friendly welcome awaits!If you are a young adult (17-30) with learning disabilities who would like to explore work experience and training opportunities in the cafe, in our mosacis sessions, or Artizan Organics candles and cosmetics sessions, do get in touch with Liz Cluderay via email (above) , or give us a ring on 01423 561 556, or pop in to see us at our fair trade shop at 39 Oxford Street, Harrogate. If you'd like a tour of all our facilities it's great if you can ring or email ahead to book this in. We look forward to welcoming you!
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We're extremely grateful to players of the National Lottery for their support for this exciting and life-changing new project, via the National Lottery Community Fund.
