Rhayader shop dragon raises £1,700 for Wales Air Ambulance
'Ffleur', as the dragon became fondly known, had entertained local children aplenty since Rosemary Stow put it in the window at her craft shop, Quillies, in Rhayader, June 2022.
Rosemary had countless offers to buy the crocheted dragon, made by Vicki Gregory, from Aberedw.
But due to the fact it took Vicki 80 hours to make it, Rosemary had been unable to put a value on Ffleur.
Instead, she came up with the idea of raffling it off for charity, with the winner drawn at Wonderwool Wales, an annual craft event taking place at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, at the end of April, with the proceeds donated to the Wales Air Ambulance.
'We managed to raise £1,729.70 for the Wales Air Ambulance,' said Rosemary this week.
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'The winner was Lesley Bishop, from Abertillery, who was absolutely thrilled to have won it, especially as it was her birthday the day after the draw.
'My shop window is quite bare at the moment but I have put in a photo of Lesley holding the dragon with a limerick underneath.'
Quillies stocks textiles, art, jewellery, photographs, prints and ceramics, all made by a host of talented makers, with around 80 having sold their items in the shop.
Rosemary, who opened the East Street shop in 2016, wanted a centrepiece for the front window, and Vicki swooped in with Ffleur.
'I had no idea it would prove so popular,' said Rosemary, originally from Kent.
'I wanted something to grab people's attention and visitors love it. Local children love it and it's always a talking point. They make 'rawr' sound every time they pass the shop.'
She added: 'The maker took 80 hours to make so I couldn't possibly sell it and it would cost about £1,000 to sell, so I thought the best way to part with it would be a raffle.
'I decided that it would be appropriate to hold the raffle at Wonderwool Wales at the end of April and, because the Air Ambulance is the chosen charity of Wonderwool, they were happy to agree to the idea.'
A Wales Air Ambulance propeller quilt was the second prize, with other smaller dragons as additional prizes, as well as other items.
Rosemary said the quilt was won by Doreen Parker, from Swansea, while one of the baby dragons was won by a Powys resident, living in Bwlch-y-Sarnau. The other baby dragon went to a lady in Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow.
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