A WHITCHURCH businesswoman will break new ground next month when she moves to larger premises.

Sarah Radford owns wool, fabric and haberdashery business, Crafty Birds.

But next month she will be moving away from her current spot in the Bredwood Arcade into a new place that is two-thirds bigger.

Sarah hopes the extra space will allow her to launch new classes.

She said: "Crafting is not only for women, many men are interested too.

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"I have two in my sewing classes currently, and I am hoping to inspire more to catch the bug.

"Obviously, having more space means we can now expand the courses."

In addition to sewing, Crafty Birds has a crochet club on a Wednesday afternoon and an extremely popular knit and natter on Thursday morning.

There are plans for a sewing group.

Sarah first opened Crafty Birds in 2019 after turning her hobby into a business and she is pleased with the benefits the new place will offer.

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She said: "It’s probably the shortest migration distance in nature.

"But it does mean that our Crafty Birds will have a big enough nest to enjoy more classes and learn more skills, and we will be able to offer a larger stock range in store."

Sarah describes herself as a sewist, makes most of her own clothes, and has seen many haberdasheries disappear from the high street in recent decades.

She said: "We’re becoming a rarity.

"Shoppers get quite excited when they discover us.

"And Whitchurch is the sort of town where customers quickly become friends."