Pauline Batstone shares her monthly round up of what’s happening among the town’s collection of community enterprises and events
The Boutique, The Emporium and 1855 have all been having a bit of a makeover recently – a smart new sign over The Boutique, with new dark blue paint on the doors and windows of both it and 1855. And we’re pleased to be showing Earth Star, a new piece by local artist Jamie Hart on the front of 1855 – we want to do our part to make the town look attractive.
Inside our shops the stock is as good as ever. Hopefully we may get a little more summer weather yet to encourage shoppers to enjoy buying some of our lovely summer clothes in The Boutique (Sale Now On!) and don’t forget Dapper Chaps.
We must just say congratulations to 1855 for winning a Gold Award in the North Dorset Business Awards – and also to our tireless SturAction staff and marvellous volunteers.
If you’ve not stopped by 1855 for a while, why not use the regular Meet the Traders event on the first Saturday morning of every month? It’s always the same day as the Car & Bike Enthusiasts Meet in town, so you can make a whole morning of it!
The Art Week seems to have stretched on well beyond its official week – the town has been displaying some super paintings in the shop windows. A personal highlight was the totally mad but thoroughly enjoyable Art Race in The Exchange, with artists completing a painting in 20 minutes. The audience voted for their winner, and the pieces were also auctioned off. I urge everyone to come to the next one! In the meantime, don’t forget the vast collection of art upstairs in the Art Gallery above The Emporium.
In other news …
The Wedding Festival will be back in 2025 – this time at the end of January. If you have a wedding dress in your attic which you would love people to enjoy again, St. Mary’s Church will be looking for more for the fourth exhibition!
School holidays have started but that means the new term is looming closer. Don’t forget the FREE school uniform items upstairs above the Furniture Warehouse. Let the youngsters enjoy their summer freedom but as we move towards September come and see what we can help you with.
We are trying to keep The Furniture Warehouse open on a regular basis – Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10am to 4.30pm (plus other times when we have volunteers available). If the door is not open, do always come down to The Emporium and someone will pop along and open up for you. And if you have a few spare hours, would you like to come and join our cheerful SturAction family? Get out the house, meet new people, fill a few quiet hours and immerse yourself in the lovely feeling of giving back. We are always looking for more volunteers to come and join our SturAction family! Please do drop by The Emporium or 1855 for a friendly chat, or email Cheryl on 1855stur@gmail.com.
We are often asked where the money raised through SturAction’s shops goes – here’s what your support enabled us to contribute to the Town during July:
Art Week simply would not have happened without you
We have paid a grant to The Blackmore Vale Practice to help fund various national awareness campaigns to keep us all healthy and happy
We are one of the sponsors of the Riverside Festival on 17th August, which aims to give families a cheap day out
We pay for the free car parking on the first Saturday of every month with the aim of bringing people into town to shop and also enjoy the Car & Bike Enthusiasts Meet (and we also pay the insurance for that event).
We have made a grant to The Exchange towards an exciting ongoing project which they hope will draw more people in to the town.
That is just one month’s work for the town by SturAction – it is all about making Stur a good place to live, work and play.
