Birmingham FoE has its own crafting group “Happily Ever Crafter“ on the third Monday of each month, but it’s good to see that there are others appearing round town too. We also have the next Moseley Swap Shop on Saturday in the Prince of Wales where you can bring along things you no longer need and take away things others have left for free.
A Crafty Beer is another such event and brings a double offering of creative goodness for all craft fans. On the 3rd April, Easter Saturday, 12pm – 5pm, the Victoria Pub opens its doors to A Crafty Beer’s first ever craft fair and on 21st April, 7pm – 11pm, the night returns for another night of creative arts, skills workshops and group networking – with this month’s theme being centred around a ‘film night’.
The hotly anticipated craft fair will showcase a variety of work from a collection of Birmingham based craftspeople, with jewellery makers, graphic designers, vintage clothes modifiers, knitters and even a costumier all demonstrating their talent for the Birmingham public. With such an assortment of loveliness of craft and food, A Crafty Beer’s first craft fair is the only way to spend a relaxing Easter Saturday.
On the 21st April A Crafty Beer returns to the Victoria Pub for a monthly helping of craftiness for its growing community of pub-goers, with a themed ‘film night’. Every month ‘A Crafty Beer’ brings together all craftspeople in Birmingham, giving them a space to get comfortable and creative in one of the coolest independent venues in the city centre. Heading up the city’s burgeoning craft scene ‘A Crafty Beer’ demonstrates how to keep the credit crunch concerns at bay providing a friendly environment to network, socialise, swap skills and learn new crafts – and all within easy reach of the bar.
Katie Moran, founder of ‘A Crafty Beer’ explains “these difficult economic times have changed many of our personal habits, from where and how we spend our money on socialising, to how we dress, furnish our homes and give gifts. In light of the current recession a few pioneering pubs are opening their doors to non-traditional entertainment nights like ‘A Crafty Beer’ showcasing the wealth of Birmingham’s artistic talent and building a brave, new creative community as they do so.”
With style icons such as Lily Allen and Julia Roberts taking to the needle and thread crafts are now officially cool. Birmingham residents have long wised up to the trend with a surge of craft events enjoying widespread success across the Midlands. ‘A Crafty Beer’ is helping Birmingham locals discover the joy of all things crafty, be this oil painting, drawing, sewing, knitting, cross-stitching, or jewellery making amongst many more.
Connect with Birmingham’s creative community at ‘A Crafty Beer’ every third Wednesday of the month at The Victoria Pub, 48 John Bright Street, Birmingham, B1 1BN. Join the ‘A Crafty Beer’ Facebook group for updates on events and information or follow ‘A Crafty Beer’ on Twitter and find out what we’re up to!
