The Heritage Craft Community
at Garlinge Green Road, Chartham CT4 5RU
The Heritage Craft Community aims to encourage everyone to discover the joys of creating something beautiful, or practical, preferably both. The Craft Dome is the first group to join such a network.
New courses planned:
Autumn dyes, Planning your dyers garden, Indigo - pigments, plants, and techniques and more Dabble Days. Some items available for sale at cost price. Needle felt and simple wet felt, lots of wool projects. Email for updates and further information.
SPECIAL! Shepherd Gnomes - fleece and felted novelties for the Christmas season. See above.
Usually 10am to Noon, Saturday or Monday. £10 per session
CONTACT Jenny on thecraftdome5ru@gmail.com for more information. NOTE - these courses often take place at short notice. Check Wye Community Farm’s Facebook page.
FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON:
Make a Shepherd Gnome! Only £15 per session. All fibre and fabric supplied. Loan of kit for the course. Some kits still available for sale.
CONTACT Jenny on thecraftdome5ru@gmail.com for more information.
Days available: Friday 24 October, Monday 27 October, Friday 7 November, Monday 10 November
NEW
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Schools carpark entrance:
///tour.rejoins.pairings
See us on Google Maps
The Craft Dome, Garlinge Green Rd, Chartham, Canterbury CT4 5RU
The Dome in progress
The Seed of a Beginning
The Dome, which is the first user of the Community, is the dream of Jenny Oliver, who currently owns the Kentish Dyes website. Following the onset of increasing illness, she wanted to create something which could last longer than she was likely to, and to encourage local people to enjoy the fulfilment of making something practical. Being both a scientist and having a longstanding interest in natural dyes, she started with plant colours, modifying them guided by her knowledge of chemistry. She also studied design technology with the Open University, and was inspired by the elegance and economics of geodesic designs.
Inside the Dome 1 - The Open Day
Not just coloured wool…
The project took some time to commence, let alone build, but now things are moving. Initially, natural dye projects were able to take place through the sponsorship of the Wye Community Farm, funded in part by the local board for the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Kent Downs area. Earlier still, while the Wye Community Farm was still in Wye rather than Garlinge Green (Chartham, Canterbury), dye projects occasionally took place promoted by Della Newman ** at the Wool Shed near Hastingleigh.
Della’s contribution and inspiration was considerable, having mentored many at the Wool Shed through basic wool processing to producing spinning, pegloom weaving, felting, producing patterned knitted goods and more. She left an impressive legacy, leaving to join her mother in Wales in order to develop a similar project there. (See below)