The Framework Knitters Museum on Chapel Street has received more than £8,000 of funding to upgrade its newly established café and shop, Parker’s Yard, with a discrete and secure reception area.
The funds for the project, which will begin and complete this winter, have been awarded through the Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM)’s Recovery and Reboot Grants, and also includes core funding and a donation from the Friends of the Ruddington Framework Knitters Museum.
The Recovery and Reboot Grants were designed to help museums in the East Midlands rebuild and strengthen their offer to customers, particularly when implementing new approaches and ideas in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The £8,335 project will redefine the shop front and see the installation of a reception desk for point of sale and display areas, which will allow items to securely and safely remain on display when the shop is closed but the café is open.
Sarah Godfrey, manager of the museum, said: “Our recent building project, Parker’s Yard, allowed us to introduce a new reception, café and shop area to help improve the visitor experience. However, as the shop and café have different operating hours and share the same space, some challenges did arise.
“Thanks to the MDEM funding and a generous donation from the Friends of the museum, we are now able to create a dedicated shop sub area, where people can purchase items and locally crafted goods can permanently be on display in a secure unit.
“We’ll be able to make better use of the reception area, extend and improve our shop offering and enable the café to open outside of the museum hours, which will help us to increase our revenue, as well as provide increased employment and volunteering opportunities for local residents.”
The museum and Parker’s Yard are open from Wednesday to Saturday, between 11am to 4.30pm, and on Sundays between 1:30pm and 4.30pm. Last entry to the museum is 4pm.
The café and shop are free to enter, whilst museum tickets for adults cost £8 and students in full time education cost £5 each. Children aged 16 and under are free.
Visitors can choose to Gift Aid their admission and in return they can visit the museum as many times as they like, free of charge for the next 12 months.
For more information about the Framework Knitters Museum, please visit www.frameworkknittersmuseum.org.uk, or visit the museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages.