Crafts, cakes and wellbeing all part of new cafe at Wolverhampton Arts Centre

A new type of cafe has opened at the Wolverhampton Arts Centre.

Emma’s Humbugs Coffee & Crafts Cafe at WAC has, since opening at the start of July, has been serving up fresh cakes and coffee and a wide range of hot meals, but also provide the customers with the chance to take up a new skill or talent at the arts centre on Dunkley Street.

It is the second cafe for owner Emma Lewis-Taylor, following on from her cafe in Sedgley, and she explained what the idea behind the cafe was.

She said: “I wanted to be involved with the community through wellbeing and art and while I’m not particularly talented, I love art, but I feel like people think it’s for rich people, so we put lots of pictures up and they seem to draw people in.

“They’ll be walking past and see that there’s something for everyone and that just makes art accessible, then there’s the crafts, which are there for people to just have a go at.

“You can do crochet, as we’ve got lots of different kits and, as I’ve said, you don’t need to be an expert, but just have a go and you might find something you enjoy.”

Ms Lewis-Taylor said the cafe in Sedgley had taken off as lots of groups had come in to use the cafe, as well as children and families, and said she had been looking at another venue to expand to.

She said the Wolverhampton Arts Centre had become the new venue as almost a happy accident as she had been asked to do catering for the CAMRA Wolverhampton Beer Festival and just fell in love with it.

She said: “I knew, at some point, that I wanted to open another venue, but this wasn’t planned and just sort of happened, but I ran with it and it’s worked out so well.

“I was asked to cater for the beer festival and was asked to come and see the venue, so I saw it and thought ‘why is nobody doing anything with this?’ as it had such a vibe to it, just like I felt with my other venue.

“The minute I walked in, I thought ‘this is the place’, and all the wellbeing and community lends itself so well to the arts centre, so it just made sense.”

Events and classes at the cafe are set to include art workshops from artists like Mark Howard, as well as candle making and activities with children, plus wellbeing activities such as chair yoga and sound baths, with some being free for people to try.

Ms Lewis-Taylor said she was excited about the future at the cafe, with a positive reaction already from those who had seen it.

She said: “It’s all about bringing people together and growing groups and we are looking forwards.

“Some of the people who we work with are going to be applying for Arts Council funding, which means we’ll have more free events, plus we’re going to do taster sessions for people to come along and try something and, you never know, you might find a hidden talent.

“It’s been really positive here so far as people are happy the space has been utilised and it has that quirk and vibrancy and we’re slowly adding a bit more personality to it, so it’s being very well-received.”