Hiya! My name's Alena Ruth and I'm a rug-tufting artist based in Manchester. I began making art with tufting equipment in 2016, started running tufting workshops in 2020, and I'm about to open my dream rug-making studio in 2026.

In 2016, I was studying Visual Arts at the University of Salford; but I wasn't very good at art. I had done a lot of textile crafts growing up with my nan, so when I first used a pneumatic tufting gun, I felt right at home. I graduated with a First Class Honours BA in 2018 and was awarded a studio space at Islington Mill for a year. In 2019, I moved to my current studio - 4101 in Unit 4 - on the same site.

Over the past 7 years, I've outgrown my 372-square-foot studio. I've achieved some crazy things: being on Blue Peter, being on BBC Radio 5 Live, working with Selfridges, making rugs for Crocs, running workshops for Converse and Redbull. I've exhibited in Salford Museum and Art Gallery, HOME, The Whitworth, Castlefield Gallery, and collaborated with Salford Lads and Girls Club. I've also run Live Tufting demonstrations at The Manchester Contemporary, We Invented the Weekend, the National Festival of Making, the Pink Picnic, Texstyle and the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair.

Since the very beginning, I imagined opening a big public tufting workshop that could indulge in anything textile-related. This year, I found a space beyond my wildest dreams, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to open a rugmaking studio in a Manchester railway arch. The space enamoured me because it has natural light, and it's a little off the beaten path but still close to major public transport networks in the city centre. There's a coffee shop nearby and the area is going through regeneration; I'm thrilled to be part of a new neighbourhood. There's even the infrastructure for an accessible toilet downstairs (bathrooms are currently upstairs), which is important to my long-term plans.

Soft Spot Studio is the rebirth of Manchester Tufting Workshops. It'll be a space where more specialist classes take place, with membership and studio day pass options. I'll be able to support many of the amazing artists I've met over the years to run their own workshops there. I hope to work with local educational institutions one day, and create space for people to become rug-tufting artists themselves. Eventually, I'll be able to offer employment, artist talks, corporate events, many weird craft workshops... I just want to create a beautiful creative space where everyone can feel peace. As an introvert who's struggled to make friends, providing a safe space for the quiet creatives means a lot to me. This is my purpose.

All of the savings that I've accumulated over the past 4 years is going to the deposit on this new space. I have a little bit of cash left over from my nan and my dad's inheritance to fund the build itself, and that's likely going to be spent on lino flooring for the mezzanine - which is going to be my own personal studio! That's all my monetary worth in the world, gone in a couple of weeks...

So, how can you help on this completely wild quest? Well, any donations are going directly into funding practical things for the ground floor public workshop area, like:

That's a total of £3,163 for the basics, which is why I've set the goal amount at £3,500. Extra money after the basics will go towards boring things like service charge, business rates, electricity, water, toilet paper and menstrual products. Any and all support is appreciated, more than you can believe. This is a dream that's had 10 years of planning and hard work behind it. And I can't wait to start welcoming you all into this space. It's a crazy idea, but I really want it to work.

Thank you, from the depths of my heart, in advance. This means everything. :)

-Alena Ruth x