Willow’s Biggleswade charity shop played a key role in this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations, collaborating with local artist Sarah Warrs to create a striking window display as part of an arts trail supporting charity, Refuge.
The opportunity arose when a local resident, impressed by the shop’s creative window displays, approached Shop Manager, Chris Hooper, to see if Willow would like to be involved. Chris, known for his eye-catching designs, saw an exciting connection between Sarah’s mixed-media work and his own use of machine embroidery, making the collaboration a natural fit.
The arts trail, which featured 24 local artists from across Bedfordshire, aimed to celebrate female creativity and bring the community together. Families, children and art lovers of all ages explored the trail, enjoying the displays in businesses across town. Willow was the only charity in the town to take part, introducing new visitors to the shop and raising awareness of our mission to provide special days for seriously ill young adults.
With the success of this year’s event and positive feedback from the community, there are already plans to take part again next year. In the meantime, the paintings from the display will remain in the shop until the end of March, forming part of a special Mother’s Day window.
To find your nearest Willow charity shop, visit our shop locations page.