Crafting and creating in Brum?

Last weekend, two friends and I went to the UK’s largest creative crafts event at the NEC and spent a small fortune of crafty items.  Over lunch, we were discussing crafting in Birmingham and how we hadn’t seen any Birmingham based companies (but a lot from Worcester).  We were a little disappointed by this, and I hoped it was because none had been invited or that the craft shops in Brum are too small to be able to give up trading for the day.  In any case, crafting in Brum seemed to be something my friends and I want to do, but can’t seem to find out how.

I’m really hoping that with the help of the wonderful, wonderful people on the internet might be able to help.  I want to try and find out more crafty things to do.  I’m not talking a 30 week fine-art level sculpture course, although I wouldn’t mind, but more the down to earth crafts – knitting, sewing, jewellery making with beads, crocheting, quilting, tatting and anything else anyone knows about.  I’m not sure whether I’m including food in this quest, but baking certainly seems an option.  The more informal, the better.  Oh and I don’t mind Sutton Coldfield or Solihull either, they’re not Brum, but if I can get there on a bus, they’ll count.

Once I know more about crafting class and the like, I’m hoping to go to as many as I can over the year and blog about it.  Really it’s just that I like to craft and would like to be able to learn more.  I’ve been describing it to friends as “creating in Brum”, somewhat plagiarising the wonderful Created in Birmingham website’s name.  But hopefully you get the idea.

Things I already know about

1. The Birmingham Bead Shop – including Bead Club and the bead workshops run there.
2. Creative Open Workshops.
3. Stitches and Ho’s at the Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath.
4. A Crafty Beer at The Victoria, Birmingham city centre.
5. Loaf, based out of Cotteridge, Birmingham.
6. The Bead Loft, Jewellry Quarter, Birmingham.

If you know of anything that I really ought to know about, please comment on the blog, tweet me (@lauracreaven) or email me laura [dot] creaven [at] gmail [dot] com.  I’m really keen to hear about everything and anything.