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Keith’s Story
Keith started coming to Handcrafted over 4 years ago. At the time, he was homeless, and battling an addiction to alcohol. “I’ve been coming to Handcrafted for nearly 5 years now. I went on one of the machines and I had no confidence whatsoever. I couldn’t do nowt. I was so low and drink was… Read more »
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A Hoodie and a Hope and a Future
They are carbon neutral, organic cotton, fairwear certified, hand printed with vegan ink in this workshop by people who are turning their lives around to set up their own jobs and enterprises. Find out about our hoodies in this video, including a message from Newcastle Hall of Fame Footballer, Shola Ameobi. The hoodies will… Read more »
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Covid-Secure Night Shelters: What a Win!
Many of the creative people who bring their courage and skill to the Handcrafted community have experienced rough sleeping and homelessness first hand. So, when we were invited to collaborate with Durham Winter Night Shelter in making the shelter Covid-Secure, there was a real passion to help out. Here’s how the space was transformed by… Read more »
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No space? No tools? No problem!
I love looking at sites like Pinterest and the YouTube channels spearheading the “makers revolution”: seeing the incredible creativity of some humans – especially when they are transforming things that might otherwise be destined for landfill. But I hate feeling like a bystander, having neither the space or the tools, and possibly lacking the confidence… Read more »
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The Student Becomes The Teacher
Meet Leanne, our new personal trainer. She’s working with Michelle at Handcrafted Women on our new exercise programme: working to support other women towards health, addiction recovery and wholeness through exercise. Leanne is, without sounding like a trite Instagram post, a complete inspiration. In the three months since she’s left prison, she’s built a successful… Read more »
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Fresh Beginnings
Food poverty is a real challenge for many families in the North East. According to the North East Child Poverty Commission, child poverty affects 1 in 4 children in the region; the national average is 1 in 5. The North East also has the highest levels of obesity in the country (30% of adults), and the poverty gap has doubled in… Read more »
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National Recognition
We are thrilled by the national-level coverage of one of our renovations on the “inews” website last week. Mim’s article explains more of what we do as an organisation and how we see prison leavers begin to stand on their own feet and gradually turn their lives around. We are passionate to see those who… Read more »
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Our Saw-Some Soapbox
Most job descriptions don’t include “drive a wooden car made in three weeks down a massive ramp, over four jumps in front of 1200 people”. However in my second month working with Handcrafted, this is one of the unexpected things I have done. Along with the other teams, we had two attempts to get down… Read more »
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One Big Family
Our Gateshead workshop has increasingly become an array of cultures and languages. Recently, the number of our refugees and asylum seekers has grown, and they have shared their stories and become included in our diverse community.
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Making the Grade!
The smile says it all. Keith is one of the first crop of trainees graduating from our in-house training program this month. Keith’s lovingly finished cue case is the envy of his pals at the local snooker club.
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Downhill all the Way at the North East Soap Box Challenge
Prince, Michael Jackson and David Bowie needed a spanner to fix their coffin … What’s the punchline? Wait … no. This actually happened? It’s Saturday, August the 18th at Herrington Country Park, and pit crews are making last-minute adjustments to their vehicles before they run the challenging downhill skidaddle of the North East’s inaugural… Read more »
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The Power of Suggestion
There isn’t a roadmap for what we are doing at Handcrafted. We have a clear sense of our mission to restore and empower people through training in the context of a creative and inclusive community. We know that there’s always room for improvement and innovation. In formal meetings and casual conversations, we are preoccpied with… Read more »
