Business

UK craft chain Hobbycraft to open first store in the north

Staff at the new Hobbycraft store at Longwood Retail Park in Newtownabbey
Staff at the new Hobbycraft store at Longwood Retail Park in Newtownabbey Staff at the new Hobbycraft store at Longwood Retail Park in Newtownabbey

A fast-growing UK arts and crafts retail chain is expand into Northern Ireland with the creation of 18 jobs.

Hobbycraft will open its first Irish store at Longwood Retail Park in Newtownabbey on October 30. The company confirmed yesterday the new store next to the Abbey Centre attracted some 100 applicants.

It’s understood that the retail chain will announce a second store in the Belfast area in the coming weeks.

Established in 1995 by the Haskins Group, a nursery and garden supplier in the south of England, Hobbycraft was acquired by private equity investor Bridgepoint in 2010.

It has now grown to 94 outlets across Britain, largely focused on out of town retail parks.

It also boasts a strong online presence, selling more than 35,000 arts and crafts products.

The Newtownabbey recruits include staff skilled in knitting, crochet, sewing and papercraft. The shop will also feature a custom crafting area, which will digital technology.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We’re really looking forward to opening the doors to our Newtownabbey store and share our passion for arts and crafts with the community. We’ve been working really hard to ensure that the store will be packed full of the most exciting crafting products, which will help our customers create handmade masterpieces.

“Our new colleagues are all dedicated crafters and are ready to inspire and share their knowledge with locals of all crafting abilities.”

The new store will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 2, with the first 100 customers in store receiving a free goody bag.