Grantham people are 'championing' Vine Street Studios as it becomes family-run
Since a new design studio opened in town, it is “growing in different ways” and has now become female and family-run.
Vine Street Studios opened in September 2022 with owner and upholstery maker Rose Raw-Rees working in the studio, and Kathy Lloyd running the retail section.
It has now employed design and art consultant Genevieve Lorenz, known as Gen, who will be sharing responsibilities in the retail part with Kathy, as well as sourcing materials for the shop.
Previously the studio upstairs was used by Hugh Brasher, an antiques seller and interior designer, but he has since moved on to another space.
Now that Gen has joined the team, the studio is now family-run as all three women are related by marriage. Kathy is Gen’s mother-in-law and Rose is Gen’s sister-in-law.
Rose said: “We’re going to have to come up with a simple way of explaining it to people, but family is a way.
“It feels comfortable for us. It feels easy as we’re all on the same page creatively and we all want the same things.
“The three of us come from different perspectives, but we all meet in the middle.”
Two weeks ago, Kathy began to run workshops to teach people skills on how to do different forms of art.
Kathy has found it interesting to see what “inspiration the artists brought”, she said.
She added: “They [the artists] come up with the ideas they are working on and they are so engrossed in it.”
Kathy hopes to make these workshops flexible and appeal to a wide range of people of any age.
Since she begun the workshops, responsibility in the retail section is now shared with Gen.
Gen, who lives in Long Bennington, has an undergraduate degree in history of art and museum studies, and her speciality is ceramics as “that’s my passion”, she said.
Gen added: “At the end of October I started making again for the first time in a long time. Then at Christmas I felt at a loose end.
“Kathy suggested coming into the shop and I said yes. It’s really nice to be in a creative environment again and I’m really excited to get involved.”
As well as sourcing and providing ceramics for the shop, she is also offering her services as a design and art consultant.
The studios are also now supporting emerging artists from the area in “whatever way we can to bring them in and give them a step forward”, said Kathy.
Millie Fern-Parker, an artist from Grantham, is the first to work with the studios and her work is now available to purchase there.
Although it opened only six months ago, the women “cannot get over the support” the studio has got and that Grantham is “championing us”, said Kathy.
Rose added: “It’s been going really well. It’s nice to have some local work coming through the door.
“Now to have this [the studio] developing into what it is and to be part of a community. And to now have Gen on board, it’s really exciting.”
Vine Street Studios is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 9.30am until 4pm.
To get in contact with Rose about her upholstery services, call her on 07737 546163 or email her at rose@roserawreesupholstery.com.
If anyone is interested in Gen’s consultancy services, call her on 07717754059 or email her at glorenzdesign@gmail.com.
If any designers or makers would like to become involved with Vine Street Studios, they can contact Kathy at vinestreetmakers@gmail.com.
