JANUARY 2011 E-BULLETIN

Welcome to January at Play Resource and a very Happy New Year! We are back to business bringing you all you need to run creative play and education activities!

In the shop we have managed to absorb the VAT increase on over half of our products, with a high percentage of prices actually being decreased. As a benefit of membership the Art & Play Shop aims to be 10-50% cheaper than it’s competitors, an aim that is proving all the more important in the current financial climate!

On the Ideas Gallery we bring you ‘Bright New Beginnings’ – a Spring themed display featuring lots of baby animal crafts.  We are also continuing to plan our year long series of events celebrating 25 years of partnership with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, so be sure to follow us on Twitter for up to the minute news!

Art & Play Shop

In addition to making price reductions, shop staff have been working hard creating seasonal displays that will spark creativity. Valentines, St. Patricks Day and Mothers Day are all themes that can be difficult to find ideas for, and we hope we are providing just that for you.

For an idea of the seasonal products we have on offer download the Valentines Price List. Look out for new Quick Ideas Cards on our website, guaranteed to be a source of inspiration. Best of all, our library of bite size crafts is available to download for FREE !  Check out the attached Valentines Quick Ideas Card for a taster of what is on offer.

Finally, have you planned your end of year spend? With the new financial year approaching the new updated Shop Price List makes it easy to see our full range at a glance.

Scrap Store

We have a limited supply of hospitality items in stock in the Scrap Store. Come and have a rummage amongst 'goodies' such as shampoo, soaps, shower creams and slippers! These would be ideal for tombolas, fairs and fete prizes!

BACK IN:

Small yoghurt tubs

NEW IN:

Perspex shapes

COMING SOON:

Carpet squares (end of January – please ask).

Plus all the usual scrap favourites! See the full Scrap Store Materials List for all that’s on offer. If there is something in particular you are looking for but can’t see it – just ask one of the Warehouse Team who are happy to help.  Don't forget we have a large selection of downloadable Craft Sheets that can help you use your scrap materials in a creative way on our website!

Membership News

BMC COMMUNITY ARTS COURSE

Are you looking to improve your own Art & Craft skills and knowledge, or looking for training and development for your volunteers, youth workers or staff? Then the BMC Community Arts and Craft Training Course OCN Level 2 is for you.  Commencing at the end of January, this popular course has been delivered successfully for a number of years by accomplished artist Anna O'Kane.

The aim of the course is to build artistic skills, confidence, develop creativity and generate new ideas for those working (or wishing to) work with community groups. There are no formal entry requirements, and full details (including fees) are available on the course flyer.

Telephone BMC central admissions on 028 90 265265 for enrolment.

E-BULLETIN PROMOTION

Is your group running training, launching a new exhibition or putting on an event that you feel would be of interest to other Play Resource members? If so, we would like to hear from you. Email fiona@playresource.org with any items you feel would be newsworthy! Almost 2000 subscribers receive a copy of our monthly e-bulletin, so we thank you all for your continued support!

Feedback Forum

We would like to hear from you each month, to help us improve the services we offer to our members. Question of the Month:

Would you be interested in receiving your membership renewal via email instead of by post?

Respond via email to fiona@playresource.org. We look forward to hearing from you!