Excitement builds for major craft expo

Bartie’s Boutique organisers have watched the ARTworthing event grow as more and more local artists have signed up to the event to be held on May 30 and 31.

Bartie’s co-founder Rachel Gilmour said: “We are really excited to see Bartie’s evolve and grow in the new event.”

The event, to be held at Worthing Assembly Hall, has grown to include a new body art element run by Occult Studio which will allow visitors to work with the artists to create their own unique piece of body art.

There will also be a guest appearance from Sophie Mutter from We Are Mountain, a group of family and friends that create original prints, card and fridge magnets, where she will demonstrate some of her work which is inspired by the Worthing area.

Linda Bernhard, another local artist, will also make an appearance where she will showcase her work, inspired by her everyday experiences, observations and surrounding environments.

The move to transform Bartie’s Boutique into this two-day event came as a result of the organisers struggling with low footfall at their old venue, Worthing’s St Paul’s Centre.

Rachel added: “We wanted to take the positive aspects from Bartie’s and condense it into one weekend.”

By moving to the new site they will be able to hold the larger event as well as take advantage of the venue’s free parking.

Bartie’s originally started as a small craft fair, with six events held every year, all to raise money for Cancer Research.

At one point the organisers had thought about stopping the boutiques all together but they are now ‘excited’ about this new opportunity.

The determination to carry on came from co-founder Jess Escourt, who lost her mother to cancer last year who was a talented seamstress, clothes maker and interior designer herself.

For further information on the event or to find out how to open a stall yourself, visit: http://www.artworthing.com/