Sanday Community Craft Hub – Where Creativity Thrives

The Sanday Community Craft Hub in Orkney is a vibrant creative space celebrating local talent and traditional craftsmanship. It showcases handmade goods from island artisans, offering everything from textiles and pottery to jewellery and artwork, while providing workshops and a welcoming place for the community to connect and create.

The hub was set up by set up by a group of local makers who wanted to share their work, we spoke to Tracy Ranger, who has been involved from the start…..

We employ three part time staff on permanent contracts, in a community where job opportunities are limited and it is normal to have at least two jobs.

Q. For those unfamiliar with the island, can you describe Sanday in three words?
A. Remote, windswept, tranquil.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about the Sanday Community Craft Hub and how it all began?
A. Sanday Community Craft Hub began eight years ago when a group of us were chatting and wishing that there was somewhere we could sell the items that we all made.  The idea of a Craft Hub was mentioned so we decided to give it a go. In the first year we used a studio at the back of my house which wasn’t in use. We opened in the July and ran it until December on very limited hours, and it worked – visitors and locals came to purchase cards and crafts and art.

We then went looking for a bigger place and somewhere that was slightly easier to access. We found a disused shop in Kettletoft and asked the owners if they would rent it to us, which they did on a very peppercorn rent. We were able then to raise a bit of money and set about upgrading it as it had been empty for some time. We opened that Easter and the rest is history as they say. We didn’t then have the cafe, only one sales room and no workshop space – those have all come since. We had to close during covid, but other than that we have slowly built it into what it is today.

Q. Who were the key people or groups involved in getting it started?
A. Norma Brown and I have been involved from the start, along with two or three other local folk. Other than one, they are all still with us, along with many others now.

Q. What role does the craft hub play in bringing the community together?
A. The Craft Hub is firmly part of the Sanday community. We have 70 artists and crafters that submit their work for sale at the hub – only two of which are not Sanday residents. Many of them volunteer in the hub and of course visit our cafe. We employ three part time staff on permanent contracts, in a community where job opportunities are limited and it is normal to have at least two jobs. We host three groups – a craft group on a Wednesday night, a glass group on a Tuesday night and soon to be an art group on a Friday afternoon. These all encourage creativity and support our artists and crafters, especially in the winter months which can be long. We run workshops to teach new skills and can support with loans of equipment.

Q. How do local artists and makers get involved?
A. Local artists can bring their work into the hub anytime it is open. They need to become a member, but membership is free so it does not preclude anyone from joining us. There are no restrictions as long as you live in Sanday and have handmade the item yourself – our only two non-residents are ex-Sanday folk. They are then paid monthly for what is sold within the previous month.

Q. Are there opportunities for people of all skill levels to participate?
A. Absolutely there are! Providing the item is of a reasonable quality then no problem – I think we have only ever turned two items away in eight years!

Q. What kinds of crafts and creative activities are most popular at the hub?
A. We have a huge range of items – pottery, knitting, crocheting, sewing, glasswork, leatherwork, painting, printing, wood turning – the choice is endless. Cards are also always a popular choice.

Q. How does the hub promote sustainability or use locally sourced materials?
A. Sustainability is at our core, just about all of our display areas are furnished with secondhand or thrifted furniture. We buy virtually all of the produce we serve in our cafe from either of the two local Sanday shops or other local growers – this way it keeps the money on the island. We compost all of our food waste, recycle all of bottles and cans and cardboard. We save packaging where possible to re-use.  We use air source heat pump for heating and we have solar panels to help with our electricity consumption. 

Part of the work that the hub carries out is beach cleans – done by our Creative Sustainability Officer – the results of which are fed back to the Marine Conservation Society. He also uses many of the items that he finds to make items that are then sold in the Hub to help with our finances. We also run workshops based on recycle, reuse and renew. We encourage the use of sustainable materials.

Q. What do you hope visitors take away from their experience here?
A. We hope they take away a feeling that we care about what we do. The gifts they buy they know have been made on the island – no cheap imports. The food they eat has been hand prepared, and where possible grown on Sanday too. We want them to feel comfortable and looked after.

Q. What are your hopes or plans for the future of the Sanday Community Craft Hub?
A. We have so many plans! We are really tight on space so we hope to be able to expand into a portacabin or small workshop over the next couple of years so we can extend our workshop offerings.  We would like to be open another day next year and then who knows.

By Victoria Dixon
Orkney and Shetland fanatic, likes to capture life through a lens, loves creating, eclectic taste in music, enjoys being a Mum; would secretly love to be a star of the West End!

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