A NEW eco-friendly children’s craft centre is coming to a village, as two friends hope to help children get creative after Covid.

Katie Pratt and Kelly Lawrence from Earls Colne are bringing the Craft Hub, to the village next month.

The pair have been neighbours for several years, both with backgrounds in children’s education.

Katie said: “I am an early years practitioner, and Kelly is a qualified teacher.

“I had to give up work due to a back operation, and when I recovered, I decided to stay at home with my children, and Kelly has also wanted a change of direction since Covid.

“We both had the idea between us and just decided to go for it.”

The Craft Hub will be after school hours, where children can enjoy eco-friendly arts and crafts.

The pair have also been working with the new Earls Colne refillery shop in the High Street for resources and hope to get children confident again after the pandemic.

Katie said: “It is a place for children to come and do crafting, and we will be using our experience and knowledge to use mindful language in terms of being eco-friendly.

“We want to work on children’s self-confidence and self-esteem too, as since Covid children’s mental health has suffered.

“All of the crafts will be eco-friendly, sustainable, or things we are reusing, and there will be three crafts per session, so for example the first one we will be making homemade playdough.

“We want the children to understand why and how we are doing the eco side of things.”

The classes are every Thursday from 3.45pm to 4.45pm, for nine months to ten-year-olds.

However, the pair are hoping to branch out into the daytime for toddler groups and camps outside of term time.

Katie added that they are excited to see where the project goes, after the positive public response.

She said: “The feedback has been amazing, with people either wanting to help or asking questions we hadn’t thought of.

“The project can really go anywhere, and we are excited for the future.”

The Craft Hub opens on June 9 at the Earls Colne Baptist Church.

For more information, contact thecrafthubec@gmail.com.