Rosehip Community Shop

The Rosehip Craft Shop
A year has passed since the Roseway Community Craft shop was started and named “The Rosehip”. The name was chosen as the shop works with the fruit of the school. The shop has become a community gathering point on Friday afternoons and we now have access to the same good quality, natural, handmade crafts, toys and craft materials that are enjoyed by Waldorf schools around the world.

Stock take and reflection
Thank you to all who have supported this community venture. We have learned many lessons along the way and feel that it is time to reflect on the year that has passed. For this reason, the shop will be closed for a few weeks, while we do a stock take and undertake re-organization.

The working group
2010 has seen a number of changes to the working group that began the venture. Bridgette has had a new addition to the family; Alison has taken up a full-time job at Roseway; Shelley’s family face a move to Underberg; Peta has had increased work commitments of her own and Rohinee also has a new job. Last term Collette Van Heerden was approached to join the working
group and we were very pleased when she accepted. A new parent, Jenn Bailey has also agreed to help on Friday afternoons and she will also be joining the working group. Also, in a very important development, Trish Joslin has offered to help with the accounts.
These changes will bring new energy and ideas into the shop.

New Venue
The kindergarten have been gracious hosts for a year, but need their third classroom back. The school and the working group have been actively working towards a new venue, which will probably need to be a wooden cabin. If you have any suggestions in this regard, please let us know. Thank you

Thank you for the part that you play in this community venture. Watch this space for future developments. Please contact a
member of the working group if you have any comments, suggestions, ideas or feedback.
With best wishes
Peta, Alison, Shelley, Bridgette, Collette and Jenn

BACKGROUND TO THIS PROJECT
The intention of this project is to make quality toys, craft materials, books, organic food and school supplies available to the Roseway Community.
For nearly six months now the Rosehip Craft Shop, situated at the kindergarten, has been a hive of activity on Friday afternoons. A number of people have asked about the history of the shop, its structure and its progress, so we would like to take this opportunity to answer these questions.
The community shop is an initiative of the school and was first suggested in April of this year, by the kindergarten teachers, who had an available classroom. The craft circle was approached to take on the project and a working group consisting of Bridgette Siepker, Peta Dukes, Alison Crouch and Shelley Van Wyk was established. After extensive consultation with the Shop at the Constantia School in Cape Town, a model for a co-op was adopted, whereby crafters place their goods in the shop on consignment and the shop takes 15% of their sales. The shop also sources goods, which are sold with a mark up. The crafters do duties in the shop, and the working group volunteer their time and expertise as a service to the school.
Our grand opening was held on the 19th of June 2009 and since then the shop has been going from strength to strength. The shop began with no capital and money had to be raised through raffles, food sales and competitions. At present all the profits made are put back into buying stock and getting the shop up and running. In time, the proceeds will go back to the school. Thank you to Peta Dukes who at present does the bookkeeping free of charge, which is an enormous contribution to the project.
For every three hours that the shop is open, there are approximately ten hours of work to be done "behind the scenes". The working group would love to have other committed people join the project to share the load and benefit the school, so please contact a member of the working group if you would like to be involved. We would like to open on a Saturday morning once a month but need more volunteers to be able to do this. We are also always on the lookout for quality, hand-made goods made from natural materials to stock the shop.
We would like to thank the kindergarten for so graciously hosting the shop on their premises. It is not easy for them to have hoards of people shopping, eating lunch, gathering and playing there every Friday. In this regard, please be aware that the teachers are not on duty after 12pm and that parents are responsible for their own children. Please also use the back entrance to the kindergarten to access the shop (follow the flags!)
Look out for our stall at the Christmas market, where we will be selling handmade Christmas decorations for school funds, in addition to our usual items.
Thank you to the whole Roseway community for the fabulous support you have shown to the shop.