Makerplace

“The biggest thing for me is having the opportunity to meet other people while you’re doing something creative,” she said, recognizing how one of her biggest takeaways from using the Makerplace is the longstanding friendships she’s created. “Making friends as an adult is really daunting. Making friends when you’ve not got a family here or you’ve not got a basis of historic friendship groups is even worse,” she continued. “It was the first cookery class that I went [to]...it was like speed dating! This lady walked in the front door, and I went ‘maybe I’ll say hello!’ So, we chatted for the first time and that was fine, and we kept up with that relationship outside.”

Quilliam later attended the Magic of Chickpeas class and found herself a group of friends.

“The second cookery class, I sat with a group of four and we just went, ‘let’s talk!’” she said. “And we decided that we were The Chickpea Girls, and we would see each other from then on.”

The following month, despite having no experience quilting, she joined a quilting group at the Makerplace.

“It was so nice to feel like I was part of a community,” she said. “And that is what the Makerplace is doing… bringing people together who would never meet in their normal everyday life.”