Crowdfunder campaign hopes to raise cash for new St Albans vintage and arts emporium

A crowdfunder is looking to raise £7,500 to open a vintage and arts emporium in abandoned stables this September.

The Three Wise Monkeys Vintage and Arts Emporium will have 3,000 sq ft available for vintage traders, antique dealers, artists, and craftspeople.

There will also be a space for quirky museums, private collections, creative classes and art exhibitions, including showcasing children’s artwork.

The name comes from a mother, father, and son trio – the three wise monkeys.

Money is needed to restore fully restore the old building on Woodstock Hill, from buying chairs, tills and furniture to replacing light fittings, carpets and windows.

Colin, a large wooden horse part of the old stables fittings, will be a permanent attraction of the emporium.

The crowdfunding campaign has until Saturday to complete its target, but Denise Denial, one of the three monkeys of its name, is adamant that the space will open no matter what.

She said: “Having done a lot of this ourselves, the costs of launching something like this is eye-watering.

“But we will try to finance elsewhere if the crowdfunding doesn’t work.”

“If we have to open as it is, with a single chair, no carpets, and wear a moneybag instead of a till, we will still be opening in September.

“Of course we’d like to make it as nice as possible before opening though.”

With a waiting list 100 strong and 25 confirmed traders, the start-up expects to sell the rest of the space soon.

Denise says she has been “absolutely blown away” by the level of local interest.

Click here to get involved in the crowdfunding campaign.