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Welcome to the CRAFTCO shop in Southwold


CRAFTCO is an outlet for contemporary crafts and applied arts from
East Anglia, with changing exhibitions in our upstairs gallery

Please also visit our Instagram and Facebook pages

Short video of Ron Fuller's circus

About Us

The Great Eastern Craft Co-operative, or CRAFTCO for short, began in 1987 when ten local craftspeople formed a
co-operative and opened a shop and gallery in Southwold Market Place. Five years later they bought a house in the
High Street, originally a forge, which is now CRAFTCO.

With about 100 associate members, a core group runs and organises the shop. We meet monthly to discuss co-op business and consider newly submitted work. We are always interested in encouraging new makers. Our aim is to provide a permanent showcase for contemporary applied arts from East Anglia. Come and see our unique prints, ceramics, jewellery, textiles and toys. If you are interested in ordering any item, please phone 01502 723211 during opening hours.

  • "It's payday, so it's dangerous to be in here."

    "The highlight of my holidays is coming here and buying something."

  • "It brightens up a dull day, coming in here."

    "This is the most revered shop in the world."

  • "We've come from Oxford, and there's not a gallery there as nice as this one. You should expand."

    "If I won the lottery you'd have to close CRAFTCO as I'd buy everything."


Our Members

  • Title Goes Here

    Virginia Storey

    • Our Associates

    We have about 100 associate members, whose work is for sale in the shop. For more details, click on the links below.


    Welcome to the CRAFTCO gallery






    Craftco Exhibitions Programme 2023


    FEBRUARY
    Jane Mitchell Finch - textile brooches and pictures
    Edwin Mitchell Finch - letterpress posters


    MARCH
    Elaine Nason - figurative linocuts


    elaine nason


    Jean McIntosh - decorative ceramics


    jean mcintosh


    APRIL
    Craftco group show




    MAY
    Derek Smith - geometric marquetry boxes


    derek smith


    Nicky Belton - origami works by foldy folded

    nicky belton


    JUNE
    Suffolk Craft Society - Beyond the Reeds
    WINDOW SHOW - Joe Lawrence - fisherman, beachcombers, warriors and kings



    joe lawrence



    helen maxfield




    terence ryan




    elisabeth chester


    JULY
    Julie Carpenter - acrobats, wire sculptures



    julie carpenter



    julie carpenter

    Sally Pucill - small ceramic figures



    sally pucill

    Rosemary Grieve - pictural quotations



    rosemary grieve

    WINDOW SHOW - Georgina Warne - ceramic hares, horses and birds


    AUGUST
    Irena Sibrijns - decorated vessels, vases, jugs and bowls
    David Jones - linocuts about town
    Gail Durbin - silver jewellery oxidised and printed



    irena sibrijns



    irena sibrijns


    david jones



    gail durbin


    WINDOW SHOW - Katharina Klugg - continued exploration of pottery vessels


    katharina klugg


    SEPTEMBER
    Paddy Peters - domestic and sculptural ceramics inspired by nature
    Vanessa Laubach - landscape linocuts
    Diana Ashdown - linocut landscapes


    paddy peters


    vanessa laubach

    WINDOW SHOW - Sarah Spence - colourful mosaic figures



    diana ashdown


    OCTOBER
    Simon Turner - painted wood panels and woven pictures
    Clare Gaylard - glass jewellery


    clare gaylard


    NOVEMBER
    Nancy Main - thrown and hand built sculptural forms
    Holly Scholfield - prints



    nancy main



    holly scholfield


    DECEMBER
    Group show




    Opening Times


    Monday 10 - 5
    Tuesday 10 - 5
    Wednesday - closed
    Thursday 10 - 5
    Friday 10 - 5
    Saturday 10 - 5
    Sunday 11 - 4


    If you are interested in ordering any item, please phone 01502 723211 during opening hours.

    Submit work to CRAFTCO

    We meet once a month to discuss co-op business and consider newly submitted work.
    We consider work by any artists living and working in East Anglia.
    CRAFTCO is a gallery/shop specialising in applied art.
    This means we do not, as a general rule, exhibit photography and paintings.

    Contact Us

    Please feel free to contact us by email or telephone, details of which are shown below.
    Better still, come and visit our lovely shop in the charming coastal town of Southwold.

    40A High Street, Southwold, Suffolk
    tel: 01502 723 211
    enquiries: irena.sibrijns@gmail.com
    sales: julescarpenter@icloud.com
    See our wonderful work to buy on Facebook and Instagram
    New images regularly uploaded