Her Cave Inc – a women’s group in the same vein of The Mens Shed, offering local women a place to meet like-minded people, form friendships and make arts and crafts – is back in action after lockdown and about to hold its first craft market.
The group has been running since 2015 at the Scouts Hall in Kanwal and the 15 members who attend regularly love going every Wednesday and Friday from 9:30am to 2:30pm.
President of Her Cave Inc, Regina Doyle, said the club is a very welcoming place for women who like to create various crafts in good company.
“We do all sorts of different things with crafts for the community.
“Anything to do with sewing, paper craft, jewellery, mosaics, pottery, macrame… we do anything we can think of.
“The only thing we don’t do is metal or timberwork as we don’t have the facilities for that.
“All people have to do is pay their membership fee and $10 every time they come to cover the cost of rent and insurance for the group, and we get a lot of our craft items from donations.
“They can make anything they want with whatever we’ve got, we reuse and upcycle everything.
“We also have coffee and a biscuit together, so everyone who comes along gets a bit of entertainment and friendship,” Doyle said.
Her Cave Inc re-opened after closing due to the public health orders in October, and Doyle said the group has seen more members joining.
“We have increased our membership to many who found out about us during the lockdown and then waited patiently before we could start up again.
“Since then, the smiles are back on their faces and they are crafting new items.
“The ladies talked of how they missed being able to sit and communicate with their likeminded friends and how lonely it was to not be able to share any projects they were doing.
“This was also apparent in some of our members who are not internet savvy, even just to be in the presence of another person was exciting.
“The ladies absolutely love coming along.
“They all come along and have a laugh and there is no judgement from anyone.
“We’ve also formed friendships that go on outside the shed, where we go on outings together too,” Doyle said.
To raise funds to support the group, Her Cave will be hosting a craft market on December 11, selling their crafts to the community.
Doyle said she invited Wadalba Rural Fire Service along to run a sausage sizzle to give them an opportunity to do some fundraising, noting they also couldn’t host fundraising events through lockdown.
“I used to be in the RFS, and they always need a hand, so I invited them to come along and run the barbeque and maybe even bring Santa with them.
“We also have been contacted by parents of young children who have started doing craft in lockdown and they’re excited to see what we are selling and maybe sell some of their own.
“I’m quite impressed with what they’ve made, so we might have some future entrepreneurs in the making.
“I think everyone in the community is excited as there haven’t been any markets on due to COVID.
“We’ll have 10 to 12 stalls for the community selling all kinds of crafts.
“I’ve had so many people enquiring about holding a stall which I’ve had to turn away because we’re booked out.
“I’m also hoping to make this a regular market every school holiday which would be awesome to give young ones the opportunity to sell their crafts, but that all depends on how this one goes,” Doyle said.
The craft markets will be held at the Scouts Hall in Kanwal from 9am to 2pm on December 11.
Anyone looking to join Her Cave Inc can attend on Wednesday or Friday from 9:30am to 2:30am to sign up for a membership, or they can get in contact with Regina Doyle.
“Come along, its free for the first day and you can have a look and do some craft and have a cuppa.
“If you feel like you fit in and you like it, sign up.
“We’re quite easy going,” Doyle said.
Harry Mulholland
Just voted for your organisation for the Greater Bank community grants. Good luck!