Craft Central will close at the end of the month because of financial pressures, the charity has announced.
The charity, which operates a building used by about 70 contemporary craftspeople in the Isle of Dogs, east London, said that four staff would lose their jobs, plus one regular freelancer.
Craft Central, which said it already made one person redundant in November to cut costs, said in a statement from trustees that a variety of financial pressures including high rent and rising utility costs had pushed it over the edge.
The statement from the trustees of the charity, which has been operating for 50 years this month, said it would stop trading on 29 February.
“You may be aware that the organisation has experienced extreme financial difficulties since moving from our building in Clerkenwell Green in 2017, which were further compounded by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising costs, particularly utility bills, and a decline in funding for arts and crafts in the UK,” the statement said.
It said staff and trustees had implemented measures to improve the charity’s financial resilience.
“Those measures have extended the period of time during which we could continue operating but were not sufficient to secure the long-term sustainability of the organisation, which would have required a radical rework of the business model and further funding,” it said.
“We understand that this will have an impact on so many of the craftspeople we have supported over the years and the community as a whole.
“We recognise the disappointment and frustration that many of you will be experiencing and we would like to thank you all for your support these past few years, through good times as well as challenging times.”
The charity had income of £385,266 and spending of £404,188 in the year to the end of March last year, latest accounts show.
Its financial records on the Charity Commission website show it had increased income and reduced expenditure over the previous five years to reduce its deficit from £453,000 in 2018/19.