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Chapter 33
The April morning blew a fresh breeze and Holly pulled her coat collar up as she walked along Wells High Street carrying her art folio. It had been ten months since the first farmers’ market. Autumn, Christmas, Holly’s birthday and a blanket of snow had been and gone. Val was back in her house and Holly had been helping out with her care. Rising early to pop over and help her wash and dress had become part of her daily routine and she had combined it with Trixy’s walk. Jaz helped out in the evenings and Val had regained slow speech but it would be a long time before she would return to her usual chatty self.
The main nursery building was now rebuilt and filled with stock and an extension linked it with the old barn which was to house the arts hub. It was on schedule for the grand opening in a few weeks’ time. Holly neared the Town Hall; many artists had shown an interest in using the hub. Now it was time to firm up the slots.
Once inside the meeting room, Holly opened her folio and retrieved the plans for the hub. She pinned them to an A-frame flip chart. The room was cold and she wondered whether it had been a good idea to hold the meeting here, but it was a great venue, size wise. Nina burst into the room wearing a long-sleeved electric blue dress and her dark wavy hair bounced off her shoulders.
‘Holly, there you are.’
Holly was pleased to see Nina. As much as she had wound her up in the past, she was a great networker. Holly had seen more of her since Nina had got together with Ethan. They had met at the summer fair, having not seen each other since college, and had really hit it off. With Julian and Jaz also going strong, it seemed as if everyone was in love.
‘It’s a bit chilly,’ Nina said, touching the old-fashioned cream radiators. ‘The heating’s kicking in, so it’ll soon warm up.’ She rubbed her hands together. ‘Breakfast will arrive at nine. I’ve gone for plant based options as a lot of the arty types are well into the vegan revolution. Bear that in mind when talking about the farm next door.’
Holly blushed. ‘I wasn't going to talk about …’
‘Oh, no, no of course not. Have you heard from Mitch?’
‘No,’ Holly said, standing away from the flip chart and looking at her plans, hoping Nina would not press her any further on the subject.
‘It reminds me of college, doing all the arty stuff,’ Nina sighed. ‘I missed it when I went off to study business.’
‘But it’s served you well, you’re a real success.Something Special, is the go-to place for brides for miles.’
‘Yes, specialising was a good move.’
With Nina’s help, Holly laid out pens, paper and an agenda for the prospective artists, who began flowing in at half eight.
First was James the potter, then Mandy who worked with textiles, Jackie who specialised in mosaic and sculpture, and finally Sarah with her knitting and crochet. Holly scanned the room; they were certainly a colourful bunch. Knits, tie dyes, denim, crushed velvet, scarves and boots.A real mix of generations too,she thought as she felt her palms sweat.
Nina put a hand on Holly’s back. ‘Do you want to start? I’ll make notes for you.’
Holly smiled at Nina, she appreciated her help.
Holly stood up. ‘Welcome. I know most of you attended the fair at Lovelands last year and saw the plans, but I wanted to refresh your memory and go over them again, in more detail. And to update you on the changes we’ve made. I’d also be grateful for any feedback you have.’
The briefing went well. The artists were attentive, asking questions and they appeared fully engaged. Holly felt a buzz of excitement. Was it just her? Or was it collective?
‘I’ve been waiting for this type of venture for ages,’ Jackie said.
‘Me too,’ Andrew added.
‘My details are on the info pack, if you’re still interested.’
‘You’re joking, right?’ Mandy said gesturing around the room. ‘We’re all interested. This is amazing.’
‘Definitely count me in,’ Sarah said. ‘And I have other contacts who would love to be invited.’
‘I have spare information packs and leaflets if you want to take any.’
‘I’ll take a couple,’ Jackie said, ‘I know two others who would seriously consider this.’
Holly smiled. ‘That’s great. In the information pack is a calendar with time slots. If you could indicate any you’re interested in, I’ll plan a workshop rota. There are a few permanent spaces I can let out too, for anyone wanting a full-time space to work in. Obviously, they will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.’
‘In that case, I’ll have one,’ Mandy said.
‘The rates of hire are in the pack. Permanent areas have a set fee. Feel free to come over and I’ll show you around, although please book this in advance as the contractors are still on site so I have to work around them.’
‘Well that couldn’t have gone any better,’ Nina said to Holly after the artists had left.
