A new artists’ studio will open in the Baltic Triangle this week, after a successful Crowdfunder campaign exceeded its £2,500 target.

Former Southport College ceramics department staff Chris Turrell-Watts and Don Parkinson made a call for funds to help set up the creative site after noticing a demand in the city.

Discussing the successful campaign, which aimed to raise funds to tackle the costs of expensive equipment, Chris Turrell-Watts, founder of Baltic Clay, says: “It means we are able to finance the move and create the new studio which we have called Baltic Clay.”

Baltic Clay, via its crowdfunding, will spread the costs of rent, materials and overheads by sharing the space between members and visitors.

Chris adds: “Being an artist who works in clay, finding the right workspace and buying the relevant equipment can be difficult and expensive.

“My business partner, Don Parkinson, and I ran the ceramics department at Southport College which had been part of the college’s art department since it was built.

“Four years ago the college decided to close the ceramics department making us both redundant. We decided at the point to use our redundancy money to buy some of the college’s ceramic equipment and set up a not for profit studio and called it the Southport Ceramics Studio.

“We ran classes in ceramics allowing people the chance to discover the creative possibilities of working in clay as well as organising exhibitions and selling events.

“The studio ran successfully for three and a half years but it gradually became obvious that there was a great need for a ceramics studio in Liverpool and we started looking at relocating to the Baltic Triangle as it was already becoming an ever expanding area for creatives, artists and independent businesses.”

The major hurdle for clay artists are the costs of specialist equipment such as kilns, electric wheels, glazing and slipcasting areas which is how the idea of crowdsourcing emerged.

Chris says: “Moving a large kiln is an expensive business and so I was looking for alternate ways to fund the move and looked at crowdfunding as a source of financing.

“It seemed to be where many other creative people had gone to finance their projects that may have had difficulty getting backing from more traditional institutions like banks.

“After working out how much we would need to move, I created a short video that explained what we were planning to do and the reasons for creating the studio.”

A condition of the crowdsourcing was hitting the target amount by the deadline which Baltic Clay did so with ease and as a consequence, has already promoted the business to the community.

Chris adds: “The Crowdfunder campaign has to reach its target within a set time otherwise you don’t receive any of the money pledged so it’s a matter of constant promotion and advertising the campaign at every spare minute.

“It’s quite nail biting at times but very exciting and we eventually received 130% of our target so it was a very successful campaign!

“People pledge money in exchange for certain benefits, such as discounted membership, recognition of their support on our funders’ wall and even some of my own ceramic art.”

Chris believes Baltic Clay will be a great addition to the Baltic Triangle, reflecting the creative hub the area is becoming in Liverpool.

He says: “It will be a great resource for Liverpool allowing anyone the chance to try clay out through our evening classes for beginners and, just as importantly, allowing ceramic artists the chance to continue to make, exhibit and sell their work in an accessible and affordable way.”

For more information on classes and memberships, visit the Baltic Clay Facebook page.

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