Wreath Encounter

Our Community Cohesion Grants support a diverse range of projects that bring people together in East and North Brighton, and one of the recipients of our recent Autumn 2024 round was The Arts and Crafts Project.

More than just being a creative hobby, there are numerous benefits to taking part in arts and crafts workshops including the positive effect it can have on social and mental wellbeing.

Run solely by Cat Berman for the best part of the last two years, the project delivers around 22 sessions a year from St Andrews Church in Moulsecoomb.

East Brighton Trust were delighted to be asked along to meet Cat and the group at the festive wreath-making workshop last week, and arriving early gave the opportunity to find out about Cat and The Arts and Crafts Project before the start of the session.

“I’m completely self-taught and the project’s home spun and group-led”

Cat told us.

“I always ask which crafts everyone wants to do, and I can teach most things.

It’s also a safe space for people to come together.

It’s isolation-breaking, and we have a regular bunch, but we always welcome new people, and we started running some groups over the summer where people could bring their children, so hope to do that again next year as well.”

It was interesting to take a look at the huge number of wreath-making supplies, as Cat shared her brilliant knowledge of all the materials and how to use them.

As everyone arrived for the workshop, so did a mountain of foliage from people’s gardens, and some beautiful wreaths were created.

It really was an absolute pleasure to be there, and the festive music brought an extra Christmassy feel to the room, while the atmosphere remained warm, inviting, and encouraging.

It was wonderful to hear from Cat that there’s enough funding to run the project until the end of 2025, and East Brighton Trust felt very lucky to have been able to delve into the festive world of wreath-making, with the brilliant Arts and Crafts Project.