Our guest speaker this week was Janet Baxter who runs Nanna Jan’s ‘Third Drawer Down’.
Janet opened a pop-up shop four years ago - it was expected to run for three months and is still going strong!
The shop is both a source for haberdashery and craft supplies, a retail outlet for locally made craftwork, and also a community hub.
With the move to larger premises in the former Footsteps shopfront, it became possible to run classes where skills could be shared. The shop became home to a knitting group, Yarck CWA craft workshops. ‘Rural Australians for Refugees’ is a beneficiary from a project recycling old table linen ($10,000)
In the early stages of the pandemic many, many masks were sold, or facilitated.
Anne Coward is a dab-hand at mending, and 20% of the income generated from her sewing is donated to Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal.
The shop also supports ‘The Samaritan’s Purse’ project by covering postage of shoebox-sized parcels filled with school supplies and hygiene requisites for recipients in third-world countries (500 x $10 per box so far).
Stock to Nanna Jan’s ‘Third Drawer Down’ comes from haberdashers and small warehouses which have closed, so prices are very reasonable.
ASC students have recently had fun sourcing costumes for muck-up day, and some students have taken up sewing / craft and mending during Covid19 isolation.
President Helen noted the shop has been a hub of activity and a great resource for the community.
