As a social enterprise, ArtisOn is a not-for-profit organisation. We receive no funded support. Our viability is very finely balanced because of our commitment to provide the best possible service and experience, at the best price.

Over the years we have worked very hard to reach a position where our workshops are so in demand, that the fill rates are quite predictable. This is great, as it enables us to work out our viability as we are lucky to be able to assume a reliable number of places sold. Included in the equation is our treasured Reward Card system – customers collect stamps each time they visit that can be exchanged for a free workshop. Like a Costa Coffee card – but better! Everyone loves the excitement of finally filling the Reward card and getting a freebie. In fact the freebie equates to getting 10% off the cost of all previous workshops back. Over the years it has certainly added to the pleasure of coming to ArtisOn.

The Impact of Covid-19

We’ve been luckier than many organisations during the pandemic. Our ethos means we keep our overheads low, so the government support has gone some way to covering these costs during the 14 months we have been unable to trade. However, we now face a very challenging 12 months and here’s why…

Now we can open, our priority is to have the funds available to actually deliver the workshop programme we have rescheduled – funds from booking income that was mainly received in 2019. There has been very little new bookings income during the past 14 months.  At the same time, the investment needed to ensure a safe environment for reopening has already been quite hefty.  So, the most important thing to us now is cashflow.  This is why we are so grateful for the support of those who have kept their bookings with us, accepted a credit rather than a refund or even made a new booking. It is very much appreciated and we would otherwise not have made it this far.

As we now reopen, we have reduced the number of participants for workshops by an average 20%, to ensure we all have space. Obviously this has a big impact on the viability of all the workshops we have rescheduled. Of course guidance could relax but at the moment we have to assume that these restrictions are the safest way to proceed. So, until mid May next year, all workshops will be delivered to fewer folk than originally planned.

So, the good news is that if you have a booking – the space and attention from tutors will all be greater and the competition for pudding will be less!

The Bad News…

We certainly won’t be reducing the level of service or increasing the price to make the books balance. But, the income from every workshop space really counts, especially for the next 12 months. If we don’t at least break even delivering the rescheduled programme, the future could be very uncertain.

So, we have decided that the least bad option to support our viability is to suspend our Reward Cards system for the time being. This has been a very hard decision as we know how valued the Reward Card system is. We will review this decision as things progress.

If you have already booked using a Reward Card, the booking will be honoured. If you have a full card waiting to be spent, rest assured, as long as ArtisOn is still here, you will have the opportunity to use it in the future. But for now…

– We cannot issue any new Reward Cards
– We cannot accept Reward Cards as booking payment for NEW bookings
– We will have to suspend the stamping of existing Reward Cards

Apologies everyone. This has been an extremely hard decision to take, but we feel it is the fairest way of protecting ArtisOn from even harder decisions further down the line.

Please don’t lose your cards though!