"Two and a half hours off from the world, Chirpy Design to make you feel fine"
To celebrate the end of Chirpy’s Workshop Programme for the summer break, our next project was to get hands on and crafty in Chirpy’s unique workshop space, and check out what is on offer in this lovely sought after independent store.
Aprons & paint brushes primed, artistic creative mind-sets pushed in to gear, we were “etching” to experience the artistic nights ahead!
Nestled on Chapel Allerton’s High Street, sits Chirpy, well renowned for its exquisite gifts, arts and designs, all of which boast a local independent heritage and flavour.
Heading inside you will find Chirpy’s famous twisty lit up sign, hinged above the front desk providing Jo McBeath, the owner, her very own halogen Halo. Jo and her team live and breathe an ethos about pro local businesses - promoting and striving for collaborations - engaging and building long-lasting relationships within Chapel Allerton and the local supply chain.
The team at The Chapel Allerton Blog have therefore named Jo the “Independent local business Angel” clearly amplified with the Halo of course!
Chirpy is set over 2 quirky floors, with a Diagon Alley-esque winding stairway leading up to a further floor of shopping and a wonderful workshop space with bright windows looking down to Chapel Allerton’s bustling high street and inside decorated with the biggest Chapel Allerton map in giant-sized wallpaper you have ever seen - no need for google maps - just use the workshops walls as your compass!
We had the pleasure of joining two different workshops in July: from succulent exotic plants and terrarium creations hosted by Eve Finlay Miller from Made by EFM, we were totally obsessed with the greenhouse au natural colours of these plants...
to blasts of fusion paint colours on wooden furniture hosted by Nicky from Done Up North, both uniquely different themes, portraying the different range of available workshops, open to all ages - clientele and experience.
ARTY FACT 1: Chirpy has hosted 50 workshops this year - we are so glad we caught the last couple before the Summer - what had we been waiting for!?
With the warmest of welcomes from our hosts - Chirpy Jo and Nicky from Done up North and the chance to say hi to our fellow like minded workshop crafters, the fun had begun. Laid out with precision was everything we needed for the evening; business class style pouches filled with goodies to take away, props and materials for our creations (including sanding paper, colour pallet inspiration guides, step by step home project planning) all delectably decorated with funky logos from our workshop lead.
This was the starting position for The Chapel Allerton Blogs crafty office desk tidy box! (wait for it!)
We sat back and eased in to the download and vibes from our creative leaders who guided us on a journey of artistic wellbeing. Sanding techniques mastered, buffing up techniques still needing a bit of practice, but what a great opportunity to network and chat with the other five guests. We loved that there was a strong sense of encouragement and energy flowing throughout the evening.
It was two and half hours off from the world with a great bunch of new-found comrades, all of us being guided step-by-step through the crafty stages.
Paints galore at our disposal, everything was included in the evening which meant that we could let out creative juices flow. Another highlight of the night was understanding the origin and ethos of the products involved - Fusion Paints were the pallet of choice.
ARTY FACT 2: Fusion paints are non-toxic, hardy & reliable, and all the way from Canada! Sounds just like the paint we want to be using on our future furniture painting projects in the pipeline!
Our creations quite quickly took shape, yellow duck tape paving the way to our designs, hints and tips flowing for the best ways to position the brush strokes and for the final milestones to the grand unveiling. Tea, coffee and cheeky biscuits were keeping us fuelled, and we took advantage of the opportunity to have a sneaky peek around the gorgeous products on sale whilst waiting for our masterpieces to dry.
Its great to know that Chirpy has a fabulous offer running for workshop guests to claim 10% off the other products within the shop during the event - and we certainly took that offer up (two birthdays, one new home, one christening card) - Chirpy had it nailed for our eclectic weekend line-up of engagements!
Aprons on, nicely paint splattered, we had truly got stuck in to the flow of the workshop, now hooked on mid week creative events!
The workshop clock chimed calling the end of our experience at about 9.30pm which was the perfect time to take a step back and check out our brilliant creations.
The itinerary for the workshops is ideal for those finishing work, grabbing some tea, and arriving for a usual 7pm kick start, finishing at 9.30 still leaving time to enjoy the rest of the evening.
We were chuffed with our end product - The Chapel Allerton Blog Logo, partly resembling it...maybe?
The end to end experience - from preparation, design, painting, interactions and laughs through the night, makes this venue a fun and crafty escape from the world. We would highly recommend building an artistic workshop at Chirpy into your wellbeing schedule - you never know what you might create, or who you might meet, we certainly will be back to enjoy the creative space up on floor 2, thank you Chirpy!
Chirpy's Autumn Workshop Schedule is now available!
Don't miss the workshop section on Chirpy's website below- limited spaces
https://www.chirpystore.co.uk/
A huge thank you to the hosts Nicky from Done up North & Eve from Made by EFM for the best introductions to creative wellbeing workshops! Check their websites out below!
https://doneupnorth.com/
https://www.evefinlaymiller.co.uk/
Chirpy 148 Harrogate Road Chapel Allerton Leeds, West Yorkshire LS7 4NZ
Telephone: 0113 266 0062
E: hello@chirpystore.co.uk