We’re delighted to announce we have received funds to upgrade our newly established café and shop – Parker’s Yard – with a discrete and secure reception area.
The funds for the project, which will begin and complete this winter, have been awarded through the Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM)’s Recovery and Reboot Grants, and also includes core funding and a donation from Friends of the Museum.
The Recovery and Reboot Grants have been designed to help museums in the East Midlands to rebuild and strengthen their offer to customers, particularly where they’re implementing new approaches and ideas, in response to the impact of the pandemic.
The £8,335 project will redefine our shop front and will see the installation of a reception desk for point of sale and display areas, which will allow items to securely and safely remain on display when the shop is closed but the café is open.
Sarah Godfrey, our museum manager, said: “Our recent building project, Parker’s Yard, allowed us to introduce a new reception, café and shop area, to help improve the visitor experience. However, as the shop and café have different operating hours and share the same space, some challenges did arise.
“Thanks to the MDEM funding and a generous donation from the Friends of the museum, we are now able to create a dedicated shop sub area, where people can purchase items and locally crafted goods can permanently be on display in a secure unit.
“We’ll be able to make better use of the reception area, extend and improve our shop offering and enable the café to open outside of the museum hours, which will help us to increase our revenue, as well as provide increased employment and volunteering opportunities for local residents.”