We are delighted to have worked with Wates, Stortford Interiors and The Loop on Grahame Park for a series of fun sessions.
The DIY workshops were held at The Loop on Grahame Park, which helps upcycle and reuse unwanted furniture that would otherwise be sent to landfill. They offer furniture a second lease of life and sell it on at affordable prices for residents. They also provide opportunities to work and volunteer in the workshop.
Wates, our developer on the Grahame Park regeneration, donated tools including drills for the workshops which will now be used at The Loop. Stortford Interiors’ work on the site as the contractor involves joinery and carpentry including timber panelling, staircases and doors for the new homes, which are set to welcome residents later in the year.
Along with Wates, Stortford Interiors have done a huge amount in the community since starting on Grahame Park. For the workshop they donated the wood that residents would then turn into storage boxes with help from the team.
Guy Zimmerman, senior project manager, said:
“It’s been fantastic to work so closely within the community at Grahame Park and see the difference we can make to residents’ lives. Today has had a really friendly and fun atmosphere with residents chatting and learning together.”
The DIY workshop saw 10 residents of Grahame Park – four young people who were doing work experience and six adult residents, who happened to all be female. They were putting together ottomans (storage boxes) which they would then be able keep.
The residents expressed their delight at learning to use new tools. One said: “I have a drill at home but it just sits there. Andrea (The Loop Manager) was able to teach me what it did and the different settings so I can now put it to good use.”
The residents added they would have love to have learned these skills when they were younger saying “it just wasn’t a thing for women back then.”
They were excited to put their new learnt skills to use, now that they have been able to put together the storage boxes, and said they’d be making planters for their homes soon.
