How Aprill 11 in Durham are Helping Local Makers Thrive
A thriving hub for local creatives has recently popped up in the heart of Durham
We spoke to co-owners Miranda Warmington and Bethany Malyan-Fisher about establishing April 11, and championing northern creativity.
Miranda and Bethany, who both grew up in Durham and connected over their time spent in the fashion industry, were inspired to create their own space after struggling with the loneliness of working from home and the perceived lack of creative opportunity in the North East. ‘It felt quite isolating. We were both working from home and we also felt, especially in Durham, that there wasn’t any space celebrating northern creativity,’ says Miranda. ‘We wanted to create something in the heart of Durham where people could come and be inspired to shop northern artists and makers, but also meet like-minded people and create a community.’
Bethany agrees. ‘Both of us felt that we had aspirations to work in the fashion industry when we were younger, and it felt like we had to move out to get those creative careers. There was at that time a lack of creative opportunities in the North East and so a big part of what we wanted to do was to really promote and honour creativity from the North of England,’ she explains.
The makers and creatives Bethany and Miranda wanted to champion were central to establishing April 11, and the pair sought out creatives who inspired them before even acquiring the space for the shop. ‘We started by going to a few different maker’s markets, and we were very much drawn to the same makers,’ says Bethany. ‘I think the first people we found were Ceramics by Kat and Emily Conroy Ceramics.’ The pair wanted a cohesive space, where each collection was complementary yet distinctive. ‘We have four ceramicists at the minute, we have a couple of textile artists and makers, and then some print makers. It makes it a nice curation of things that fit well together,’ says Miranda.
The duo are also developing their own homeware range which will be available in the shop when ready, and everything found at April 11 is meant to be a departure from typical, fast-paced buying cycles on the high street. ‘It’s about considered purchases – buying things you love and want in your home forever. It’s the same as what we’re going to design for our own label, it has to feel like it’s got longevity,’ says Miranda.
Community is at the heart of what Miranda and Bethany have created, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. ‘We’ve been really pleasantly surprised,’ says Bethany. ‘We believed in it and we thought this is what we wanted, but you never know!’ The pair say that April 11 pulls in a wide demographic, and many visitors come in just to connect. ‘We also have people who come in and just want to talk. It’s building a community and people feel like they can come in and have a little browse or a chat,’ says Miranda.
April 11 also offers creative workshops, with plans to expand in the future. ‘We run a regular painting workshop and having conversations with people who now come regularly, it’s just so nice. It’s a massive part of why we started the business,’ says Bethany.
‘It feels like actually if you dig down into these communities, there is this sense that people want to belong,’ Miranda agrees. ‘I think how we see it developing is to really build on and expand the community side of it, making it more of a space where we can have people come to even hire out the space for their own events. There’s an empty unit next door which we would love to have as well. Then we can have a gallery and workshop space in one side and on the other side it would be a studio and community workshop space. That’s our dream!’
