Launch It Kent Makers’ Workshops Open Their Doors in Sheerness

A major milestone for the Sheerness Revival, creating new opportunities for local young creative entrepreneurs.

We’re proud to celebrate an exciting milestone for young entrepreneurs on the Isle of Sheppey with the official opening of the brand-new makers’ workshops at Launch It Kent Masters House.

Marked by a ribbon-cutting event yesterday, the launch signals the completion of the first phase of the Sheerness Revival project – a £20 million town centre regeneration scheme that is already breathing new life into the area.

For Launch It, it represents something even more important: new opportunities for young people to start, grow and sustain creative businesses.

FROM CRUMBLING GARAGES TO CREATIVE WORKSPACES

Once dilapidated garages on Trinity Street have been transformed through a £500,000 investment by Swale Borough Council into three modern, professional workshops designed specifically for artists, makers and craftspeople.

Located just behind Launch It Kent Masters House, which itself reopened in October 2023 following a £1.5 million refurbishment, the new workshops form a natural extension of our growing enterprise hub in Sheerness. Together, they provide affordable, high-quality spaces where creativity and entrepreneurship can thrive side by side.

The transformation of the garages from 2023 (left) to present (right).

SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS

As a national youth enterprise charity, Launch It exists to help young people turn their ideas into viable businesses. From Launch It Kent Masters House, our team is already working closely with local entrepreneurs; offering subsidised workspaces, tailored 1 to 1 support, skills training, mentoring and access to networks that help early-stage businesses succeed.

These new makers’ workshops allow us to go even further in supporting young creatives aged 18 to 30, particularly those who want more than just a studio space. By joining our two-year incubation programme, tenants benefit from:

• Affordable workspace in a supportive creative environment

• One-to-one enterprise support and mentoring

• Business skills training and workshops

• Opportunities to collaborate with other makers and small businesses

• A thriving community rooted in Sheerness

  
  

Whether you’re a ceramicist, textile artist, furniture maker, illustrator, jeweller, digital creative or craftsperson of any kind, these workshops are designed to help you build a sustainable business, not just rent a space.

A SHARED VISION FOR SHEERNESS

The workshop opening is part of the wider Sheerness Revival programme, funded through the government’s Levelling Up Fund. Alongside the makers workshops at Masters House, the scheme includes:

• A major extension to EKC Sheppey College, delivering new engineering and creative media courses

• Investment in the Healthy Living Centre, including a modernised GP surgery and new community facilities

• Improved leisure and wellbeing spaces, from gyms to outdoor activity areas

Launch It Kent enterprise manager, Denise Knights, said: “I am delighted with the completion of the garages and cannot wait to introduce these makers’ hubs to local entrepreneurs. They are a great addition to Masters House and Sheppey as a whole."

AN OPEN INVITATION TO LOCAL MAKERS

The opening of these workshops marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Sheerness – one built on creativity, enterprise and opportunity.

If you’re aged 18–30 and dreaming of starting or growing a creative business, we’d love to hear from you. These spaces aren’t just about work – they’re about belonging to a community, gaining confidence, and building a future with the right support behind you.

Find out more about the workshops and our two-year incubation programme at: www.launchit.org.uk/sheerness and follow us on Instagram and/or LinkedIn.

You can also email info@launchit.org.uk for a chat or arrange a visit at the hub.

Photos by Swale Borough Council via Sheerness Revival page / Additional info from Kent Online News.