A CRAFT group whose aim is to bring creativity, motivation and joy to one of Malvern’s most deprived areas is proving a huge success.

Founder Jill Peer said the Pixley Crafters group had “blossomed terrifically”

since being formed a year ago, attending craft fairs and establishing a core membership of about a dozen members with many more visiting from far and wide.

Taking its name from a variation of the Pickersleigh area that it serves, the group meets regularly at local pubs including The Swan, at Newland, and The Great Malvern Hotel, in Graham Road.

Friendly and open to crafters old and new of all abilities, Mrs Peer, a reflexology therapist by trade, said a key part of setting up the group was to help people suffering with depression or other issues.

“It certainly helps me and just about everyone who comes to the meetings would probably say the same,” she said.

“Many of the people who I meet have had illnesses or problems of some description and this is something that they can do and put all their heart and soul into.

“It definitely has a therapeutic element to it.”

With the group now well established, Mrs Peer is hoping it may be able to do some work to support the Big Pickersleigh Project – an initiative set up by Malvern Hills Partnership last year to empower local people and improve quality of life in the ward.

The partnership was set up after the ward was identified in the top 10 per cent most deprived in the country for education, and the top 20 per cent for income and employment.

Anyone interested in joining the Pixley Crafters can join them when they meet at the The Swan on Monday, November 19.

The group will also be at craft fairs at The Great Malvern on Saturday, November 24, and The Morgan, in Clarence Road, on Saturday, December 15.

For more information, call Mrs Peer on 07754 950939.