Make North

Louise Smith opened Make North in August 2019 in Preston City centre, as a community maker-space where members could access facilities such as pottery wheels and print benches, as well as attending formal courses taught by our resident-artists Christine, Katie and Micaela. Seven months after launch our membership had grown to over 80 members and 100's of people had participated in courses, then Covid-19 closed our doors. In response we launched a home-pottery service and spent 15months delivering clay to member’s doorsteps and collecting their pots to glaze and fire, over 120 households participated, with all ages taking part. ​ As it has for many the pandemic has been tough for us and we were too new to be eligible for government 'cultural recovery' funding and so after a long period of not covering costs and with ongoing uncertainty over Covid, we took the decision in July to close. We survived the lockdowns thanks to the enthusiastic and generous support of our members, we are incredibly grateful and hope we can find a solution to reopen soon!