Why I Started Late Create: Craft Workshops in Taunton

I didn’t start Late Create because I had a grand business plan. I started it because I had a nine-month-old baby, a toddler, and a very strong feeling that I needed something that was just for me.

After my second baby was born, I found myself searching for something social I could do locally in Taunton that didn’t revolve around prosecco (I was breastfeeding) or signing up for a proper course. I was tired; I didn’t want a big night out or to have to think too much. I also didn’t want to be out until midnight, I just wanted a few hours where I could leave the house, talk to adults, and feel like myself again.

I remember typing things like “craft workshops in Taunton” and “creative workshops Somerset” into Google late at night while feeding the baby. I was looking for something that felt welcoming, that I could go to alone without feeling awkward and weird. Something that didn’t require me to already be skilled at a particular art form. Something that finished at a reasonable time so I could get home, check on the baby, and still get some sleep (dream on! I really was delusional during those late night feeds).

But I couldn’t quite find it.

There were lovely things happening, of course, Somerset is full of talented makers and artists. Taunton has creative people tucked away everywhere doing amazing creative things. But I couldn’t find the kind of relaxed, social, evening craft workshop that I really wanted to go to. I didn’t want another daytime baby group singing nursery rhymes and balancing a frightening cup of rubbish coffee on my knee. I wanted to sit around a table with other women, make something with my hands, chat, laugh, and leave with a little spark of creative energy again.

I realised what I was really missing wasn’t just an activity, it was that feeling of being creative without pressure. Before children, creativity had always been part of my life. I love organising things, bringing people together, seeing an idea come to life. But somewhere in the haze of nappies and feeding, that part of me had gone quiet.

Then I had a thought, if I couldn’t find the craft workshops in Taunton that I wanted to attend, maybe I could create one.  I got suddenly excited and my mind kicked into gear imaging timings, venue, people I’d contact and in those few minutes of thinking I realised how much I had missed working and how it was a part of who I am.  So I thought “Yes I can do it”, even if it’s just one event for fun just to get myself back again.  The kind of event I would genuinely look forward to. It would be local, here in Trull, Taunton, so I didn’t have to travel far. It would start after kids dinner time but not finish too late. It wouldn’t revolve around alcohol. It would be friendly to come to alone. The workshops would feel good quality, the workshop leaders would be professional artists and makers, they would be inspiring without being intimidating.  It would be as much fun for them as the participants.

Once I let that idea in, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I realised that what I needed wasn’t just a night out — it was a project. I love organising, I love details, I love the process of pulling something together. Setting up Late Create gave me a focus at a time when so much of life felt repetitive and small, worthwhile of course but there’s only so many messy play set ups I could get excited about. It gave me a reason to message old friends who are artists and makers, it gave me an excuse to reconnect with creative contacts across Somerset. It reminded me how many talented, generous people I already knew from working at the Brewhouse and in North Devon.

Slowly, the idea became real and encouraged by Dave (as always) I took a deep breath and booked my local village hall in Trull and set the date. I persuaded some friends to run workshops who I knew would be kind if no tickets sold or it didn’t work out.  All set ready for women who, just like me, might be searching “things to do in Taunton for adults” and hoping for something that felt a little different.  When I stood up to say hello to everyone at that first event my hands were shaking and I turned bright red, I had lost so much confidence in myself and what I do.

What I didn’t fully realise at the beginning was how many other women were feeling the same.

Women who didn’t want another loud night out. Women who were new to the area. Women who had just had babies. Women who had grown-up children and suddenly had time again. Women who said, “I nearly didn’t come because I didn’t know anyone” (every time someone says that, I feel so glad they did).  After that first event in December 2022 I had a big cry and knew something had changed for me.  I’m so so grateful to all my local friends who bought tickets and turned up to support me.

Late Create isn’t just about running craft workshops in Taunton. It’s about creating the space I was searching for, where you can come alone and not feel strange. Where you don’t need to be an artist and creativity is playful again, not pressured.

It’s also about Somerset. I care deeply about keeping things local, about celebrating the creative talent we have here. Every workshop is a chance to shine a light on a different maker, a different skill, a different way of creating.

When I look back, I can see that Late Create began as something quite personal. A tired mum wanting an evening out that worked around breastfeeding and bedtime. But it has grown into something much bigger than that, it has become a tiny, vibrant creative community in Taunton that is always open and welcoming to new members.

Sometimes I still think about that version of me now my babies are 4 and 6 years old, scrolling on my phone at 2am, searching for something that didn’t quite exist yet.

I’m really glad she decided to build it.