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30
Nov
Pateley Bridge workshops rebrand after devastating fire
King Street Workshops in Pateley Bridge has rebranded following a devastating fire earlier this year.
In September a huge blaze affected two of the workshops as well as a residential property.
Moxon and Simm Jewellers in unit 1 and Fiona Mazza Ceramics at unit 2 were gutted and remain closed months later.
The other eight businesses at the site were unaffected. Now, four creatives who work at the yard have launched a community interest company in the hopes of helping those affected rise from the ashes.
King Street Workshops rebranded as Pateley Makers Yard last week and is to get a new website and social media presence.
The CIC has been set up and self-funded by Rosie Evans, a textile and interior designer, William Evans, a graphic designer, Augustus Stickland, a woodworker, and Pollyanna Robinson who is an eclectic creator.
The Stray Ferret spoke with Ms Evans about the venture. She said:
We launched it because we see so much potential in Nidderdale and the Pateley Bridge area.
We just want to encourage people to come to Pateley and especially our yard, people often go to the High Street and don’t venture any further. I find that a lot of people who live here don’t even know the studios exist.
We want to become a destination and giving it a rebrand freshens it up and brings it to the forefront of people’s minds.
I just want to tell people that there are such talented people here and that everyone has so much great work to show.
The aftermath of the fire. Image: King Street Workshops
The yard is now pedestrian access-only and there is a diversion in place.
She added that the two units damaged by the fire remain “carcasses and probably will be closed for the foreseeable".
She said:
It has all been very positive after a terrible thing. We see it as an opportunity to build something new from the ashes and use it to spark something new, it is all about getting the community involved.
They plan to host some free events to get the community involved as well as some longer paid for courses.
Pateley Bridge Makers Yard
The yard’s first open event will be its Christmas market held on December 6-7.
At the event there will be stallholders selling their products, including those affected by the fire, and a wreath making workshop.
Ms Evans told the Stray Ferret that they also aim to host more makers markets in the future.
She said:
Our first event will be the Christmas market and we hope to give the makers who have lost so much in the fire an opportunity to sell their products.
Christmas is the best time of year for makers to sell and without a space they won’t be able to do so.
We want to help them get some money back but also provide an opportunity to come together as a community and be hopeful about the future.
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