Craft Cauldron mixes multiple crafts in Whanganui East

At Craft Cauldron in Whanganui East are artist Kaytlin (left) with store founders Cheryl and Sharron. Photo / Paul Brooks

There's a new store in Whanganui East, and it's a little different.

The colour scheme is Gothic black, there are painted animal skulls on the walls and there's a touch of Wicca in much of the craft work. It is definitely alternative.

Sharron and Cheryl are the impetus behind the shop which provides a market for a number of craft people.

"For years I've wanted to have a shop, because I'm quite crafty, but I had trouble finding the right person [as a business partner], so I messaged my friend Cheryl and asked her if she'd be keen on helping me. Before I even finished the sentence she agreed. We found we had a lot more in common than we realised, so we went for it," says Sharron.

"We're selling on behalf, so we've got quite a few Whanganui artists who put their craft in the shop."

That mix of artists and crafts as well as the overriding theme makes the name Craft Cauldron particularly apt.

"It's like a rebirth," says Sharron. "A mixture of different things to create a craft."

A commission on the sale price goes toward rent and overheads, meaning Sharron and Cheryl work as volunteers.

Cauldron Craft has a Facebook page with contact details for interested artists.

"We're going to have market days on the last Sunday of the month: we've got an area out the back we can use. The first one will be on the last Sunday of this month [September 27] – it will be kind of like a car boot sale, just to get the place known," says Sharron.

She wants a gypsy fair / carnival kind of theme for the market days.

"We're planning workshops as well."

The animal skulls are Cheryl's work and she has no trouble sourcing raw materials. Her partner hunts and people drop off road kill for her craft.

"Now I've got the perfect place for it, and you'd be surprised at how many goat skulls sold in the first week!"

She deals in other animal parts, pairing them with crystals or decorative material and objects.

"I put things together that are aesthetically pleasing for me," says Cheryl. "This is the sort of stuff I decorate my house with."

To sell online Cheryl had to create things more "mainstream". Now, with Craft Cauldron she can unleash her true crafty self.

"We're getting so much positive feedback because there's no other shop like this."

Sharron's work includes well-crafted keepsake boxes and a variety of lampshades you would find only at Craft Cauldron.

The appeal is widespread: Sharron says they've had customers travel from Palmerston North and Dannevirke after seeing the products on Facebook.

"We keep the prices down because we want everybody to be able to afford it," says Sharron. "Craft is our passion: we're not here for the money."

"We're just doing what we love," says Cheryl.

At the moment six crafters share the shop but Sharron and Cheryl are looking for more.

The latest addition is Kaytlin, an artist who is looking to adapt her work to the theme of the shop. She has recently ventured into digital art and watercolour paintings, giving herself the craft name Melody Song Tale.

Sharron's craft name is Boss Witch and Cheryl goes by Mother Sin.
"All next month we're going to be concentrating our work on Halloween," says Sharron.