New Term, New Beginnings
It’s a new season, and as the trees say farewell to their off spring of leaves, we in turn look to renew ourselves after a summer of sun. With every new season, comes new inspiration and there is no month more inspiring, in my humble opinion, than Autumn. It’s almost as if it was made for the artists of the world. The rich, rusty colours stay bright against an array of tonal skies and you know you’ve hit jackpot when the blue sky appears to contrast the oranges of the foliage around us. There is a unique beauty in saying good bye, that this season reminds us of and a renewed sense of hope and perhaps a touch of apprehension about the oncoming winter.
I’m very much a seasonal person. I love the seasons and they have always dictated my direction, both in my personal life and in business and art. This has always come to the fore with our window displays and the themes we choose for our clubs, but now we are in a different setting, with more variety, this will become even more significant.
We have been in the ‘new’ studio and coffee shop now for four months. We have now sat in the space and found what works and what doesn’t. We have listened, we have chatted, we have put the customer first in everything we do and will continue to do so as we enter the colder, wetter months.
Autumn is autonomous with change and so, from the end of September we are making some slight adjustments to our menu of refreshments to really celebrate the seasons coming. We will embrace the spices and flavours that are closely associated with this time of year. Our new menu will be available to view on our website soon, but we would like to thank all the customers who acted as our guinea pigs in testing out our new flavours.
Another change you might notice is the presence of blankets on the backs of our chairs. We want our customers to feel really comfy in our studio, so they can focus on creativity and/or enjoying themselves. Yes we will still have the heating on, the fire going, but we encourage you to drape a blanket over your knees and really feel at home with us. Soak up the warmth of a cinnamon latte, pottery painting a pumpkin and all with the comfort of a blanket to keep you cosy.
This season we will also be welcoming some new groups to our studio. We have a home education group that will be using our services on a regular basis from September, as well as some amazing new workshops and courses for you to indulge in. They say September is the second reset of the year! All our usual clubs and classes will be returning with some new members too. As a tree will be shedding its leaves, we have had to say good bye to some of our regular club members as they embark on new adventures with school and college, but welcome in those that have signed up for the new term. We cannot wait to work with you.
These are not the only hellos and goodbyes we had to make over the summer. Nothing lasts forever and we have had a few team changes too. We would like to formally say welcome to our new team members:
Angelina, Sameira, Emily, Abi, Gemma and Zoe. To give you a brief overview of their roles:
Coffee Shop Assistants – Angelina, Sameira, Emily, Abi and Zoe, in addition to Lin, who will be stepping in on occasion.
Little Leonardos Art Club team – Gemma and Zoe, in addition to myself and Iryna, with Tara helping with holiday clubs and Megan will continue to run Leonardos Art Club.
We sadly say goodbye to Sarah. Sarah has been an integral part of the team for many years now. She has been our admin, Little Leonardos session leader and assistant and in recent months had to grasp the coffee shop side of things too. As some of you know, Sarah has started her own face painting business, Sarah’s Face Painting and she will now be concentrating on building her own business. We wish to take this opportunity to thank Sarah for all her hard work over the years and wish her best of luck in her future endeavours.
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” Henri Bergson.
To finish, if you think you’ve seen what we can achieve in our studio, just you wait, we haven’t even scratched the surface. With more space and with the time we’ve had over the summer to really hone our craft, we will now really be stretching our legs to show you what we can really do. The above quote, says it so perfectly.
Love,
Katharine x
What’s On in the Studio this Season…
We have a plethora of workshops and clubs for you to choose from for all ages. Take a look and if you see something you fancy you can book a trial for our afterschool club or a workshop at our ‘Book Here’ page.
Book here – Katharine Jennings Fine Art Studio and Coffee Shop Rotherfield