An ambitious fundraiser launched to secure the future of a “life-changing” arts hub is gaining momentum after getting the backing of an award-winning designer.
Chloe Leeder, originally from south Norfolk, works as a designer for a national newspaper and credits her achievements to Designermakers21 (DM21) in Diss.
The unique project, based on St Nicholas Street, announced earlier this month that it could be forced to fold unless a third of a million pounds is raised by the end of the year.
The landlord of the Grade II Victorian property, based in the market town’s heritage triangle, is selling it and DM21 has until December to raise £350,000 to buy and repair the building.
Miss Leeder, a former creative of DM21, said the value of the venture is undoubted and is calling for help to save the initiative.
Ten years ago, Miss Leeder was 16 and living in Gissing, near Diss. Travelling to Norwich took more than an hour on the bus and she had no access to trains.
Now, thanks to DM21, she is a designer in London working on the Sunday Times.
“When I left school, I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do,” she said.
“I did my A-levels but decided not to go to university and I felt very alone. It was a very confusing time.
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“I was very grateful for what my school did for me, but once they knew I wasn’t going to university they made me feel as if I was on my own. It was really horrible."
She was 20 by the time she stumbled into DM21.
“I just wanted to be with other creative people who could help build me up and figure out where I was going to go," she added.
“I was interested in exhibition design and DM21 asked me if I would like to curate my own exhibition for young people who, like me, had no place to showcase their stuff.”
Her enthusiasm and emerging talent was spotted by Janine Oxley, a traditional felt-maker and textile designer - and chair of the DM21 charity. She eventually persuaded Miss Leeder that a degree at Norwich University of the Arts could be for her.
Miss Leeder said: “I didn’t think I could do a degree at 24, but I did, and by that point I knew exactly what I was going to study - design for publishing.”
Her course ended with a graduate showcase in London, attended by someone from the Sunday Times who offered her an internship.
And last year, she won first prize and $1,200 (approximately £965) in the Society of Publication Designers Awards, an international organisation in New York dedicated to creatives specialising in visual storytelling.
She added: “When someone just believes in you, you begin to believe in yourself.
“Had you told me a year ago where I would be, I would have laughed in your face. I couldn’t even imagine going to London.
“It’s amazing what a difference it makes when you have people who say 'you can do this’.
“I’m just so grateful to DM21 and it would break my heart if they couldn’t buy this building and continue helping others like they helped me.
“DM21 is for everyone now and for the future.”
Miss Leeder continues to regularly visit DM21 to soak up the creative vibes.
The £350,000 fundraiser is also being backed by eminent names such as sculptor Sir Anthony Gormley and author Louis de Bernieres, as well as locally by Diss Town Council and its mayor Eric Taylor, MP Richard Bacon, and BBC presenter Martha Kearney.
Visit www.designermakers21.co.uk or the DM21 page at justgiving.com to donate.
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