Sunderland business with a Manchester City connection - and hopes for more

A Sunderland business is celebrating a year in which it worked with the champions of European football.

ARTventurers delivered art and craft fun for children on a match day at Manchester City's match with Bournemouth.

And company founder Fiona Simpson is hoping it will happen again in 2024.

Children's work was shown on stadium screens

She said: "The club always run some kids activities on matchdays and they asked us to deliver some art and craft activities at the Etihad Stadium on the November 4 for their home match against Bournemouth."

The event was 'themed around Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day. I have a branch in Stockport so she delivered the activities there on the day.

"The children did fireworks paintings, made poppy wreaths and we also got them all to work on a big collaborative piece of four giant handprint wreaths."

That piece of artwork was shown on the screens in the stadium during the minute's silence.

They could be back in 2024

Fiona added: "The day went really well and they are looking at having us back there in 2024."

It is 12 years since Fiona Simpson left her career as a solicitor to start ARTventurers in 2011. ARTventurers has 35 franchised branches which run art and creative play classes, events and parties for babies, toddlers and children across the UK.

Looking forward to more branches in the next year

Fiona also looked back on a great year closer to home.

"2023 has been another really busy year for the ARTventurers team."

As well as its vast huge array of classes for babies, toddlers and children, it has also delivered hundreds of birthday parties across the UK.

The award-winning business, which has numerous franchises throughout the UK, opened its first permanent base in the North East, when Cherry Matthews unveiled ARTspace by ARTventurers in Washington.

Fiona is hoping for more expansion and success in 2024 and said: "We are really looking forward to welcoming more team members to our franchise team, and to open some more ARTventurers branches in new locations UK wide."