Eden Artisans

Origins

The origins of Eden Artisans lies in discussions between members of the group going back some time. All of the group live close together in the Upper Eden Valley and have known each other through various networks, for several years. All are established artists and craftspeople, but with a range and variety of other jobs and responsibilities. Some have also had previous experience of working within other co-operatives - notably The Woolclip (a co-operative established via VAC’s Rural Women’s Network) – which promotes the sales of locally produced woollen products through a dedicated retail outlet staffed on a rotation basis by the individuals selling through the shop.

The Eden Artisans co-operative, according to Jan Hicks, one of the founders, was ‘something that got talked about a lot’ because ‘it offered the benefits of working within a group’. The specific benefits which the group had identified in their discussions included countering the isolation felt by artists working alone, and finding some structure which enabled them all to ‘be in more than one place at one time’ – something they all believed they could not achieve if they continued to work in isolation. So the problem the group sought to solve, put very simply, was to find a way whereby they could sell their products, produce their work, and to do the various other things required of them. Their solution was to establish a collective enterprise.

Discussions about the possibilities continued within the informal group for some time – whilst the group continued working together for shows and exhibitions. So the decision to agree to go forward and create a formal enterprise was some time in becoming real. When it did so, the solution chosen was a form of social enterprise – a co-operative.Talking with Jan Hicks – now the secretary of the co-operative- indicates that there can be no doubt that her own experience as part of the group that established the Woolclip, influenced both the decision to establish Eden Artisans as a co-operative structure, and the speed in which this subsequent co-operative enterprise was set up. Once a decision to proceed had been reach, Jan, on behalf of the group, rang a contact in the Rural Women’s Network asking to whom should they talk? Rural Women’s Network in turn referred her to Enterprising Communities who assigned Howard Long to the project.