A NETWORKING group in Henley has launched an online shop to help its members sell their goods.
 

The Creative Duck is providing a platform for the town’s creative community to reach national and international customers wanting to buy from small, independent businesses.

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Founders Sarah Gilbert, Nicola Nott and Joanna McGinn, who all live in Henley, sourced the products for the shop, including gifts, homeware, artwork, stationery, fashion, food and items for children.

Set up as a network of local creatives in and around Henley, The Creative Duck is expanding into e-commerce, launching an online shop selling unique, high quality products that are sourced locally.

With an ever-present aim of supporting the creative community, the new online space provides a curated platform for creatives to sell their work, reaching a growing national and international audience of customers wanting to shop ‘small and independent’.

“We have selected only the best quality products, from talented local makers and creative brands”, explains co-founder Nicola Nott. The result is a curated yet eclectic range of lifestyle products, homewares, fashion & accessories, art and food. There’s also a bespoke section for personalised gifts and courses. Find the full range here: http://www.thecreativeduck.co.uk/shop

The Henley Arts Trail also had a successful event over the sunny Bank Holiday weekend with hundreds of people visiting the 31 venues in Henley and the surrounding area.

New for this year was a talk by three artists, Camilla Dowse, Genevieve French (painters based at Singer Lane Studios) and ceramicist Hannah Wilson at Henley Town Hall on Saturday afternoon.  Hosted by the The Creative Duck (Henley networking group for creative minds and small business owners) Nicola Nott asked questions which included – what inspires the artists, their biggest influences, how they create their work, advice to others, what would success look like and what is their best and worst bits about being an artist.  Hannah described how she created her beautiful ceramics starting with clay coils and smoke firing them in her garden.

The Creative Duck, a new Henley networking group for creative minds and small business owners around Henley held their first sold out event at Hotel du Vin on Monday evening.

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Jo Harris said, “Our aim is to build a community of creative minds: bringing together the creators & the small business owners in & around Henley-on-Thames. A place to share knowledge, learn from others & enjoy meeting like-minded people. We will host regular evening talks from guest speakers: inspirational experts in their field, who can help you tap into your creativity, think differently about the way you work – even help you and your business reach its full potential.”

A Social Media expert will speak at the first meeting of a new Henley networking group for creative businesses.

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Aspen Weatherburn, 40, of Albert Road, Henley, will appear at a “meet the experts” talk arranged by The Creative Duck at Hotel du Vin in New Street on Monday.  She will be interviewed by BBC journalist Sophie van Brugen and then answer questions from members of the audience.  Ms Weatherburn, who created the Henley Standard’s Top Dog competition, sold her dog grooming business Naughty Mutt Nice in Reading Road, Henley, in February to launch Hello Henley, which helps businesses use social media to promote themselves to customers.

The Creative Duck was founded by four women, Sarah Gilbert, Joanna McGinn, Nicola Nott and Henley School of Art founder Jo Harris.

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It aims to bring together the creative community to exchange ideas and will hold regular meetings with guest speakers.