Our Story
We now support over 60 different local and international makers, making our Dartmoor shop a home of heritage craft and unique everyday wares.
We are Craftmongers…
“A truly magical shop… filled from floor to ceiling with a myriad of artisan goods and everyday treasures.”
Curating beautiful local craft and personally sourced international treasure.
We are based in the Devon town of Ashburton; on the flanks of Dartmoor, and within distant sight of the sea.
Our shop is flourishing with work from over sixty different craftspeople, mostly from the South West of England, intertwined with other carefully considered supplies for everyday life, including; recycled glassware, art materials, and an extensive range of books. Inspired by nature, travel, art and design; our book collection is always growing. We work with several large publishing houses, and smaller family-run publishers including Little Toller Books, Dorset and Hedgespoken Press, Devon.
Toby Strong, the owner of the shop, is a wildlife and documentary cameraman. His incredible camera work takes him to some of the most remote corners of our world. Throughout these journeys Toby has met talented craftspeople along the way, many of whom we continue to support remotely from our special shop.
These International treasures include hand-loomed shawls and rugs from Yasemin and her family in Turkey, brass and silver jewellery from Agnes in Kenya, and beautifully detailed beaded necklaces from the Maasai co-operative that Toby spent time with last year.
At home, here in the South West, we are surrounded by talented craftspeople. We are proud to be supporting traditional and heritage craft, and the hands behind it; ceramicists, weavers, seamstresses, spoon carvers, tool makers, leatherworkers, jewellers, and artists. The unmatched quality of handcrafted wares is becoming ever more important in a throwaway society on the mend. We find it encouraging to witness how the tide is turning, as people not only seek wares that have the potential to last a lifetime, but also the story behind them.
“As I traveled I met many extraordinary makers and Crafts people. From potters in Niger to basket weavers in Papua New Guinea and a scientist in Antarctica who made exquisite cloth whales and penguins from clothing scraps.
The idea of a shop to gather all this magic was always bubbling away and the opportunity finally presented itself in Devon. It is the perfect place; surrounded by such talent, skill and integrity.
Jodi has been with Craftmongers from the start managing the shop and bringing her wonder and art. Her passion and knowledge of flower meadows, plants and nature bring such depth to us. She guides our ship with a gentle, subtle touch. Lauren joined the family with her own flare and wonderful photography, her love and drive is amazing, she brings an incredible energy and creativity to the family. Rosie is the newest member of the team, an accomplished and wonderful painter, whose understanding of the interconnectedness of all things not only brings wonder to her art but also something very special to the shop.
We feel so strongly that we need to sit in a community and create with our hands. As humans we have done this for thousands of years and we must re-find it, to reconnect to ourselves and our neighbours.
Every day we are inspired by those who visit and write to us from around the World. Let’s celebrate ourselves and our creativity… whittle a spoon, make a clay coil pot, read a book again, or even just sketch.
Lastly, I want to say thank you for all of your support at this hardest of times. Without you, we couldn’t be. It’s that simple. And with you we can become something very special, a community of creativity for everyone. We are ever evolving, learning and changing.
Please come and visit, or write if you can’t.
Yours,
Toby”
Meet the Rest of the Team
We are a small close-knit team of creatives, all with a background influenced by craft, and a love for the community that surrounds us here in the South West. We are all passionately invested in preserving heritage crafts and supporting the rebirth of a more localised and circular economy. We strive to protect and honour our natural world, and this instinct falls at the heart of all that we do here at Craftmongers.
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Jodi has deep roots in Cornwall and divides her time between the far West and Dartmoor. A moorland spirit with an intrinsic love of the wilder places, her art and ambitions reflect this yearning for a wider reunion with nature.A graduate in Environmental Resource Management, she is passionate about the re-establishment of native wildflower meadows, and traditional farming practices, leading to a continued love and exploration of rural Romania, and the creation of ‘Feral’, her own land management consultancy. Jodi has been at the heart of the shop since day one, and has loved supporting Toby’s extraordinary vision evolve from a truly beautiful story into a growing and flourishing reality.
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Lauren is an editorial photographer by training and her stunning photography and design is priceless as she builds our beautiful Makers Articles for the website and print. Lauren is currently designing the first Craftmonger magazine, which is something we are all hugely excited about and should hit the shelves in spring. She is also passionate about textiles and is working with local seamstresses to produce our first Craftmonger exclusive clothing line with sustainable production methods.
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Rose-Marie is a talented painter living in Ashburton. She first became part of our shop as one of our makers, selling her prints and cards featuring her paintings of illuminated trees connected in the dark to one another. Through her passion for craft and nature she found herself spending more time in the shop and is now our newest monger. She spends her time painting, gardening, in the woods or out on the moor with her trusty hound Samwise.