I've been struggling to find the words to describe our first ever Kindling event to you all. I'm worried my gushing might seem insincere somehow, could it really have been that good? Surely I am biased? And maybe I am, but please try and believe me when I tell you that there was something very special about this event. 

A group of women from across South Wales all came together for one afternoon and evening of creativity and food, some people knew each other, some people knew no one, but by the end of the evening we were no longer in a room of strangers, we were amongst friends, and you could see that sense of connection that was forged as people shared fond farewells and asked how they could keep in touch with each other beyond this one event.

I woke up the next morning with a huge smile on my face, knowing that I had been a part of something really special, and feeling so encouraged by the little bit of magic that was made by women simply gathering together and building each other up.

Gather

Kindling was organised by myself and fellow creatives Beth Marsden and Sian Parker. It was held in Beth's studio, where she runs monthly art worskhops, and we transformed it into a lovely, cosy setting for Kindling. There were drinks and cakes galore for everyone to enjoy on their arrival, and the converstaion flowed easily as we all got aqauinted with one another.

Create

Once we had had our fill of cake, the very talented Ami Marsden led us in a wire drawing workshop. I must confess I have never done anything like this before in my life, and even though I feel vastly lacking in this kind of artistic ability, I genuinely had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Ami was so encouraging and helpful and made sure we all had a lovely finished piece of art to take home at the end of it.

I also really loved how supportive everyone was of each other's creations too, it was such a lovely, positive atmosphere. I had a momentary flashback to my school days, and a brief reminder of that feeling of inadequacy I had always had in art lessons, but it was only fleeting as it very quickly became clear that the only important thing here was enjoying yourself, and so I did just that.

Feast

Once we had finished the workshop we lit the candles and sat around the table to share a delicious three course meal that had been prepared by the very talented Vegan Chef, Rachel, from Cool Beans. The food was exquisite and I couldn't help but sit there with a huge grin on my face as everyone sat and chatted as if they had known each other for years and shared their stories, their dreams and their ideas with one another. It was truly inspiring and felt just a little bit magical.

I am already looking forward to the next one, which we are hoping will be held early this Summer. I hope to meet lots of you there!

If you want to know a little bit more about Kindling you can find out more here.

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