A St Neots-based craft studio is open and plans to celebrate its tenth anniversary on July 21

The Hunts Post: Crafty Monkey turns 10 on July 21 PICTURE: Chrissy BennettCrafty Monkey turns 10 on July 21 PICTURE: Chrissy Bennett (Image: Archant)

Crafty Monkey, in Moore’s Walk, has worked with schools, nurseries, churches, nursing homes as well as members of the public.

Owner, Chrissy Bennett, said: “We’ve been watching our customers grow from tiny babies where we’ve printed their hands and feet onto pottery, from children having their parties at Crafty Monkey and goodbye gifts for teachers.

“Before reopening, we overhauled the studio, gave it a good deep clean and declutter and have put improved systems in place.

“We are really loving some of the changes which allow us to operate smarter and give better customer service. A major revolution is our online booking system as this has massively cut down on the number of phone calls we receive giving us more time for the customers who are in the studio.”

The Hunts Post: Crafty Monkey turns 10 on July 21 PICTURE: Chrissy BennettCrafty Monkey turns 10 on July 21 PICTURE: Chrissy Bennett (Image: Archant)

Chrissy said news of the reopening and the new measures to make sure the business is COVID secure had brought about some good feedback and new opportunities.

“We’ve even been inspired by the pandemic to paint up lockdown mementoes and our customers too with lots of rainbows being painted.

While we can’t offer all our services, such as build a bear, kids parties and workshops and we need to limit the number of people who can come in, we feel blessed we are able to be open and one silver lining is that not all children are back to school until September so we give parents somewhere they can bring their children for a treat that is not only fun but educational, therapeutic and great for personal development.

“We are also looking forward to offering back our very popular hand and footprints and people are already booking their appointments in advance.

“COVID may mean we can’t have the tenth birthday party and celebration we would have liked to but it has in a way given us a rest and a new start for the next decade ahead.”

To find out more visit the: website www.mycraftymonkey.com or Facebook page www.facebook.com/mycrafty monkey.