Altrincham Duck

The Altrincham Duck team catch up with a very exciting project A4 Studios and we ask some questions. We hope you can help and support this.

This sounds like a very exciting project, where did you get the idea?

We are a group of local artist, some of us have studios in the local area with other providers. We got together because we all need something different. I needed a ground floor studio and I have disabled artist friends who also need studios. We looked at pooling our collective resources to get a building that fulfilled our needs but rents were too high.

So we looked at getting a much larger building and creating a community of artists. A4 Studios was born because we found a real need for a facility that would cater for disabled and low income creatives, we decided to set up a not for profit social enterprise to make this work.

Where in the area are the workshops going to be based?

We are based in the old RNC building on Grosvenor road, half way between Navigation road and Altrincham Central stations. 2 minutes walk from both stations giving us excellent transport links to Manchester, Chester and Liverpool.

Who are you trying to attract ?

We are trying to attract creatives from all walks of life, whether they be crafters, makers, photographers or artists. Our studios are affordable and cater for all. We will also attract art lovers and collectors and the wider community as a whole, bringing contemporary and installation art to Altrincham.

What sort of facilities can we expect?

We will have 21 wheelchair accessible studios and 6 studios on a mezzanine level, with another 10 studios being added at a later date by extending the mezzanine. Our studios are constructed to be clean smart spaces to create, and all studios will benefit from daylight quality LED lighting as well as natural light, all studios have extractors, are insulated and have heating, Wi-Fi, 4 RCD Breaker plug sockets and service we provide are comunal meeting area, art handling service and regular rubbish removal service. Studios planned range from 93 sqft to 298 sqft however because of the construction we can move walls to accommodate the tenant. We can also provide sound proof studios. All studios will have 24 hr access.

We also have AIR Gallery, a contemporary gallery that will showcase the best in new and emerging artist locally, nationally and internationally, as well as the gallery we have a large space that can be used for large installation art projects or performance events such as spoken word or acoustic musical performances.

We will be holding a bi-annual open exhibition which will be awarding cash and other prizes. A yearly calendar of other exhibitions and events is being planned and we are hoping to collaborate with other local artistic and community initiatives as and when events are planned.

We also provide a workshop space that's suitable for everyone in the community and we will also have art therapy workshops aimed at socially isolated individuals and those with disabilities to improve on health and well-being. We will also host platforms for emerging local talents to perform their craft to increase confidence and personal development. As well as the workshop space we are providing a machine room equipped with a range of engineering tools that is free for residents but can be rented by the hour for a nominal rent by the public.

We see that your target is £21,000 and we know that this is very early days, are you feeling confident?

We actually have 3 crowd funding initiatives in place trying to raise a total just over £50,000 and early interest has been very promising.

We have a friends of A4 Studios initiative; to allow willing patrons to support us on a regular basis. Friends of A4 Studios will get invitations to all our events and workshops throughout the year.

We also have some investors who are interested in investing in the project and we are happy to take applications from anybody who is interested in becoming an investor in A4 Studios. we are happy to send them an information pack.

our crowdfunding campaigns are: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/490370821/a4-studios-project we are trying to raise £5,000 towards phase 1 building costs.

https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/affordable-disability-accessible-creative-spaces/x/16216109 we are trying to raise £24,500 towards phase 2 and 3 of the project

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/A4-Studios We are trying to raise £21,000 for phase 4 and the first years running costs

We can be contacted by email at this address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On Twitter https://twitter.com/A4ArtistStudios

Altrincham Duck recently received an invite from Dude & Dudettes, to sample some chilli jam! So we sent McDuckFace along to Altrincham Town Centre to meet Darren from Dude & Dudettes.  

Be advised though, McDuckFace breaks a sweat after eating a bell pepper or anything over 0 on the Scoville scale! So he arranged the jars in order of what he expected would be the coolest to hottest, prepared emergency supplies such as plain crackers and water, and obviously posed for a picture before starting to pop the lids and sample the jam! 

First up was the "limited mint edition" chilli jam, surprisingly this seemed to be the spiciest of the 5 jars and It also tasted the sweetest too, there was subtle hints of mint, but McDuckFace may have panicked and washed this one down a little too quickly to really notice the mint.

Thankfully he was able to handle the "Garlic", "Mild" & "Original" jams without any issues. They were all less sweet than the mint one and the amount of garlic was just right too.

His favourites were the "Mild" and "Original" chilli jams, the original didn't feel too much spicer than the "Mild" and will probably be the one that he ends up buying regularly.

The "Hot" Dude & Dudettes chill jam was a little too spicy for McDuckFace, it started off ok, but then the heat kicked in and lasted longer than the "Mild" or "Original", but it would work well as a delightful spread on a steak sandwich or burger.

It's worth highlighting that all of the chilli jams tasted are:

Free from preservatives or colouring.

Suitable for vegetarians.

Gluten free.

Gelatine free.

Fat free.

You can follow Dude & Dudettes on social media to find your nearest stockist.

Twitter - @dudedudettes

Facebook - Dude&Dudettes