The Gallery Art + Coffee was opened in May 2012 by Myrtle House Community Church with the vision of enhancing the town centre with a viable and unique business that would help to regenerate, transform and bring hope to the high street.
“The dream was to create a destination that would serve great coffee, excellent lunches and delicious homemade cakes as well as providing a place where quality gifts and local art could be purchased. ”
HELPING ARTISTS AND CREATORS
We look for artists and creators who are established as well as those who are new to the process of exhibiting and selling their work. Our team works closely with new and young creatives to help them present, price and frame their work in a way that encourages sales. Over the years, we have seen many of them refine their working processes and become established in their field, some even opening their own galleries.
As we are a church and charity-run business, we aim both to provide employment to local people and help local artists generate income, facilitating the latter by charging unusually low commission on artist and creator sales.
THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT
We make a conscious effort to create an atmosphere in The Gallery that is welcoming and relaxed. The artwork we choose helps us to achieve this, as does the layout of The Gallery and our coffee shop.
The cafe area is set at the rear of the gallery on purpose; it draws people through the shop, and its seating is spread over two floors so people can enjoy their food and drinks while they are surrounded by art.
Since 2012, we have developed a loyal customer base who visit the gallery for coffee, cake and light lunches as well as the art and gifts we sell. Over the years, we have worked with over 45 artists – mainly from Carmarthenshire, although some are from further afield – and currently have 28 different creators who sell their wares with us.
Some of our art is edible, too – our homemade cakes have really helped us grow as a destination in the town centre, with people travelling from wider areas to sample them. Over 5,000 cakes have been sold since our opening.
SUPPORTING LOCAL PEOPLE
To date, Myrtle House Community Church has given employment over the past 18 years to some 126 people. Thirty of these are still with us today, and others have moved on to develop their own careers and become successful, which is a truly encouraging sight.
One such previous employee moved to London to fulfil their dream of being a personal assistant in a massive charity, while another travelled to Germany to realise her dream of teaching languages, and someone else went as far afield as the Amazon rainforest to work with an indigenous tribe.
PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT WE DO
Every week, we see people visit for the first time and remark that they didn’t know we were here – and almost all of them leave saying that they will return. Our growth as a business is based on people spreading the news of somewhere where they can enjoy great coffee and cake in a creative environment.
The area that we have found most rewarding, in terms of growth, is the team that we have worked with over these seven years. Seeing them develop confidence and responsibility as well as communication and customer service skills has been excellent – for some, this has even led to leadership and management opportunities.
Reversing decline is always challenging. Our project would not exist today without the opportunity to partner with our local authority, and it was always a risk; its success has only been made possible through dedication to the community, and a belief that regeneration is possible.
We will continue to work to create hope in people, and to recognise that hope is what changes a town.
supporting us lets us support them…
As Myrtle House Community Church our aim is to do whatever we can to help and support our local community and people. The Gallery is part of the many charitable projects we have developed that we hope help to realise this vision, these include a vibrant Parent & Toddler group, a Friendship Centre (open to any age) but caters mostly to older people, Youth and Kids clubs and Llanelli Foodbank.
These projects provide the opportunity for our volunteers to gain experience as well as placing local people in gainful and meaningful employment. On average, we have about 1,500 people coming through Myrtle House in a week to visit either our various projects or the church.
