027: Good News for Stoke & Staffordshire
027: Good News for Stoke & Staffordshire
New department store for the Potteries Centre, more than 11,000 pot holes fixed, the new-look Longton Exchange and creating positive perceptions of Stoke on Google
This week’s edition of The Knot could be brought to you by a business that supports our work. Sponsors, reach out.
Good News 🎉
Pop Up Champions Local Brands at The Potteries Centre. Staffordshire’s first creative department store, Keep It Local, is popping up in Hanley, with local brands including Born Stokie, Burslem Pottery, Grace and Flo, Cushy Paws, Angie Barnes and Chloe Breeze Illustration from 1 October-24 December. There’s more to this pop up than shopping, however. Head of creative engagement Hollie Jones says, “We'll be running free musical theatre workshops with Regent Theatre, and free circus skills workshops, Hallowe’en and Christmas decoration workshops with the Stoke BID team. We’re also running some paid workshops such as Rug Tufting, Punch Needle and Candle Making, while Castle Artisan will be hosting Meet the Maker sessions where makers will pop up in store to sell their products in person,” she adds. The pop up will be situated at the former Next store and you can also check out their stores in Newcastle and Longton if you haven’t done so already.
.Andy and Laura Jones, co-founders of Keep It Local
Good News for Drivers as More Than 11,000 Pot Holes Fixed. Following an £8 million investment, more than 11,300 potholes have been repaired across the county since May, with up to eight extra crews working around Staffordshire carrying out pothole repairs and tackling drainage issues over a 12-month period. Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways, Mark Deaville, said, “Potholes and poor drainage affect everyone who uses our roads, and we know when these issues are reported, our residents expect us to fix them quickly. We’ll continue to focus our efforts over the next few months to ensure we’re in a good place when the bad weather once again hits our county.”
Got something great to tell our readers about? Your business could sponsor The Knot. For a day, week, month or a year you can support our mission and share great stories, offers and events with our fabulous readers.
New Lease of Life for Longton. All units at Longton Exchange are now fully let and the shops you’ll find there include creative department store Keep it Local and The Art and Sound Emporium for vinyl, CDs and comics, toys, plus music and film memorabilia. There’s also arts and crafts shop Hazels Emporium, beauty store Bombs R Us, pottery studio/cafe Kiln at Number 12, gift shop This Witchy Needs, pet shop So Very Dog, creative space The Block and workshop space The Moony Club. Hungry? Then check out the The Moroccan Café for vegetable, lamb and chicken tagines, falafel wraps and flatbreads.
Google Changes Images of Stoke-on-Trent. Keen to change people’s perceptions of Stoke-on-Trent, local lady Kim Morgan, vice president of business change at insurance firm Davies Group, requested Google change its main image of our fair city from a gloomy, rainy pic of terraced houses to a bottle kiln with a backdrop of blue skies (see below). Google it and see for yourself - there’s also Alton Towers, the Trentham Estate, The Potteries Museum, Waterworld and Trentham Monkey Forest in the mix. Did you know that anyone can add photos to Google Places? Why not add your best shots – use the Google Maps app or Google Photos on your phone, or the Google Maps website on your computer.
