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inDEPENDENT BUSINESSES
EMBRACE FRESH KNOWLEDGE, NEW EXPERIENCES AND ENDLESS CREATIVITY THROUGH THE ENRICHED ENDEAVOURS OF THESE EDUCATIONAL ENTREPRENEURS.
THE LITTLE GREEN BOOKSHOP thelittlegreenbookshop. com thegreenbookshop
Opened by the impassioned Jacqui Delbaere in 2022, The Little Green Bookshop is a wonderful independent bookshop at the heart of the seaside town of Herne Bay. Offering a specially curated range of fiction, non-fiction and children’ s books as well as stationery, local art and literary gifts, the bookshop is a proud part of the local community.“ My inspiration has always been to create a bookshop that is not only a place to buy books, but a welcoming space where people feel seen, included and encouraged to spend time in- which they do!” Says Jacqui.“ My previous career in media and PR has proved invaluable for setting up our vibrant, diverse events programme which included over 45 separate events last year such as author talks, book clubs and open mic poetry evenings.” Alongside an exciting events roster, The Little Green Bookshop is prided on its collaborations with a number of local schools, with initiatives including bookshop gift vouchers awarded for good attendance and in-person World Book Day visits with free books. Keen to support teachers with trusted recommendations while ensuring the school’ s book orders are placed with a local independent bookshop, The Little Green Bookshop is looking forward to continuing to embed sustainable, community-led bookselling into everyday educational practice.
ARTY FARTY RETREAT artyfartyretreat. co. uk artyfartyretreat
With a mission to provide an inspirational space where anyone can create, regardless of ability, age or background, Nell Mellerick founded the much-loved creative hub that is Arty Farty Retreat; an open and welcoming studio situated in Southborough, Tunbridge Wells. Aiming to fill the community with opportunities to explore the arts through the expression of self, as well as harness the incredibly relaxing and therapeutic benefits that come with unleashing one’ s creativity, Arty Farty provides artistic workshops for both children and adults, covering everything from printmaking and watercolour painting to puppetry and life drawing. As well as vibrant Arty Farty parties, creative therapy, one-to-one tuition for GCSE and A-level support, they’ re also authorised by Trinity Arts College to deliver Arts Awards qualifications for everyone up to the age of 25.“ After working within arts in health and social care for over 20 years, I saw a need for a supportive space where anyone can be creative,” says Nell.“ I have met so many people who feel they can’ t be creative because someone has told them in the past that they are rubbish at art! Arty Farty Retreat aims to stop that myth- anyone can be creative, you just need to have a little fun with it!”
THE CANTERBURY CHILDREN’ S LITERATURE FESTIVAL canterburykidslitfest. co. uk | bookshopcrawl. co. uk canterburykidslitfest
Founders of Bookshop Crawl UK CIC, which began in 2016 and soon grew into an annual three-day festival of books and bookshops taking place across London every February, and also part of some of the country’ s best literary festivals, the fantastic Bex and her husband Rhys Hughes brought a venture closer to home to life: The Canterbury Children’ s Literature Festival. To celebrate 10 years of bookshop crawling and to respond to the lowest levels of reading enjoyment ever recorded among children and teens, Bex and Rhys excitedly converted Bookshop Crawl UK into a non-profit organisation dedicated to connecting and growing the bookish community, and in July 2025 brought 20 authors, illustrators, literary specialists and performers to the bustling city of Canterbury, running over 50 events around the area over three days.“ It was a wonderful weekend, filled with so much love for reading, writing and illustration,” says Bex.“ In 2026, we’ re expanding our programme of free events for local schools from one day to five days, and extending the lineup to include music, drama, story treasure hunts and lots more, showing that stories are for everyone and accessible in so many amazing ways.” The pair have exciting plans for their second festival outing this July, such as a fundraising auction to help support the expanded programme, with incredible literary collections featuring the likes of signed books and artworks. Be sure to keep an eye out for announcements!
198 • www. insidekent. co. uk