News from producers around Derbyshire

Two Derby College Art & Design students have won bursaries from Derby Decorative and Fine Arts Society to support their move into Higher Education.

UAL Art Foundation Diploma students Jess Allen and Rebecca Leam have won £400 and £200 respectively after being shortlisted for the annual award.

Jess (19) from Morley impressed the judges with her dress which combines Japanese origami artwork with current fashion inspired by designer Elie Saab. She dyed and hand-folded more than 4,000 paper petals for the piece – representing more than two weeks’ work.

The Pavilion Arts Centre Studio Theatre will be welcoming some very special guests this summer when Dame for a Laugh present their all-new children’s musical Nana and Nunu – The Big Sneeze! from Wednesday 22nd July to Saturday 25th July.

Families are being invited to join Nana and her friendly aardvark Nunu as they face their biggest adventure yet!

The winners of the Derby College ‘When I Am’ skills competitions have been unveiled in the latest episode of the innovative online television series available to watch at www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/wheniam.

There will be a real family feel to the monthly CQ Saturdays Handcrafted at the Cathedral Quarter on Saturday June 20 with a host of workshops and children’s activities alongside a wide range of artisan stalls.

The fayre and workshops will be held in the Market Place and under the Guildhall Arches between 10am and 4pm - bringing together the best of local and handmade products including artwork, food, carpentry, textile and jewellery created by artisans from across the Midlands.

Derbyshire-based Croots Farm Shop has won a place in the final of the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015.

The Duffield farm shop’s Bakewell tart was named as one of ten short-listed products in the sweet bake category of the awards, run by Great British Food Magazine.

Owner Steve Croot said: “We are thrilled that our Bakewell tart has been selected as a finalist in the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards.

Two Derby College apprentices are playing a key role in creating the landmark set of giant stumps that will symbolise Derbyshire County Cricket Club’s bid for Derby to be a host city for the 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Mark Mitchell and Jake Underwood are both apprentices at Briggs of Burton, the long-established engineering company in Burton-on-Trent who are manufacturing the six metre high giant stumps, bails and ball planned for the Pentagon Island.

The company is working on behalf of Derbyshire County Cricket Club as part of its partnership with the club.

More than 120 former apprentices attended the first ever Derbyshire apprenticeship graduation event at the Roundhouse in Derby on Thursday.

The event was part of a national programme of Apprenticeship graduation ceremonies held to celebrate the achievement of Higher and Advanced apprentices and to raise the profile of Apprenticeships as on an equal footing with a university degree.

The Fringe 2015 programme was launched at Buxton's Green Man Gallery on Friday June 5 with performers and friends enjoying an informal party featuring comic sketches from Fringe committee members. Fringe chair Keith Savage thanked all Fringe supporters including sponsor The University of Derby. He looked forward to July when nearly 600 performances would enliven the town, saying: "The Fringe reaches out and embraces people making all sorts of artistic endeavour available to all".

Derby businessman Dean Jackson, the founder of triathlon wetsuit specialists HUUB Design in Sinfin, is taking on three Michelin Star chef and television personality Gordon Ramsay at this year’s inaugural Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire.

A ‘friendly’ bet between the two will play out on Sunday June 14 when they will tackle the gruelling triathlon course in a bid to cross the line first.

The loser will pay £1,000 into the Gordon Ramsay Foundation which supports UK health charities.

A mature learner at Derby College is the first to have secured financial and mentoring support for her new business thanks to an innovative programme to promote students’ entrepreneurial plans, partnered with Flint Bishop Solicitors.

Kayleigh Whyte (25) from Littleover went before a Dragon’s Den-style panel to present her business plan to develop an online floral design business called Enchanted Eden.