East Sussex

no-one should be without a bed

28/11/2019H F Sartist, Battle, bed, bedslat, Bexhill, Bexhill on sea, cause, charity, christmas, creative, creative fundraising, deprivation, destitution, donate, East Sussex, furniture, furniture poverty, Hastings, home, homeless, homelessness, housing, low income, lucky budgie, make a difference, modernist, pea crabtree, poor, poverty, sleep, St Leonards, sussex community foundation, sussex uncovered

The stylish modernist lobby of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill is adorned with a striking upcycled Christmas tree this Winter. Bearing the message “no-one should be without a comfy bed”, the bedslat tree is the work of local charity Hastings & Rother Furniture Service.

The plinth doubles as a collecting pot for donations to help the charity provide essential furniture for local families in desperate need.

“We’ve seen families that have had to pile old cardboard on the floor for their kids to sleep on, and been really proud to deliver affordable reused beds for them.” says Pea Crabtree, the creative behind the tree and a full-time worker for HFS.
Pea Crabtree

The tree is made from broken and bowed bed-slats we can’t reuse. We hope it will make people think about how furniture poverty affects families in our area. No-one should be without something as crucial as a bed.

In recent years the government has slashed funding for Local Welfare Assistance schemes. In East Sussex, support to help families in crisis set up home fell from £1.2m in 2013 to £166,000 in 2018. This drastic cut (over 86%) means charities like HFS are no longer funded to provide furniture for people in crisis, such as families moving on from temporary accommodation, Refuges or homelessness.

The report published this week by Sussex Community Foundation underlines the need for services like these. The report, Sussex Uncovered, says 37,000 children in Sussex are living in poverty and reports massive increases in homelessness in Hastings and Rother.

We hope people will donate to help HFS meet the needs of people in our community. Please pop a donation in to the tree at DLWP, into your local HFS store, and please think of us if you are replacing furniture or electricals at home. We provide a free collection service for good, reusable home items throughout Hastings and Rother.

No-one should be without a bed.

Make a donation

making space

02/07/2019H F Saffordable, art, artist, artist studio, arts, available, Bexhill, cd shop, charity project, clay, community project, craft, crafting, creative, creative enterprise zone, creative workspace, Culture, De La Warr Pavilion, design, DLWP, East Sussex, exhibit, exhibition, Hastings, knitting, let, make, maker, makes, making, making space, meanwhile, music shop, office, paint, pop-up, pottery, project, record shop, rent, sewing, social enterprise, space to make, St Leonards, temporary, to let, western road, work

HFS has been asked to make use of an empty building in Western Road, Bexhill, while the owner looks for a long-term tenant.

The ground floor shop will offer music and films on a pay-what-you-feel basis, run by volunteers. We’re recruiting volunteers for this project at the moment; get in touch if you’d like to help out.

Upstairs will be pop-up workspace for local creatives. There are rooms for studios, offices and other spaces. There could also be exhibitions, open studios and other events.

This is a temporary project which we hope to use to prove there is a local need for permanent, affordable workspace for creative enterprises.

Pop Up

21/05/2019H F Saffordable furniture, armchair, bargain, benefits, chair, charity, cheap, chest, clearance, collection, dining, donate furniture, drawers, East Sussex, furniture, Hastings, help, home, homeless, house, household, low income, low-cost, Pop-up shop, recycling, rehouse, repaint, resettle, reuse, second-hand furniture, social enterprise, sofa, sussex, table, volunteer, volunteering, wardrobe

We’re excited to announce that HFS Hastings will be relocating to the Priory Meadow shopping centre temporarily.

The pop-up store will give us a chance to reach more people and reuse even more furniture.

It will also enable us to redecorate our full-time premises in Dorset Place. We haven’t seen most of the walls or floor since we moved in after our re-build in 2007, so we can’t wait to give it a lick of paint!

The pop-up is on a rent-free “meanwhile” basis, while the landlord looks for a new paying tenant. We are moving on Tues and Weds (21-22 May). Hastings store will be closed on Weds 22nd.

The new store will open at lunchtime on Thurs 23rd May

Open Tues-Sat 9.30-4.30

Phone 01424 44 11 12

Address SU2 (former Top Shop) Priory Meadow Hastings TN34 1PH

Vintage Fair

17/05/2019H F SAge UK, charitable, charity, charity event, collectables, Community, East Sussex, household, isolation, market, older people, pensioner poverty, pensioners, Retro, Stall, Vintage, volunteering

We have a stall full of vintage finds from our stores at the Age UK vintage fair in Bexhill this Saturday 18th May – do pop along and say hello if you’re there!

The Vintage Spring Fair has been organised to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Age UK East Sussex.

It’s a free-to-enter family fun day expected to attract 8,000 local people. There will be lots of stalls and activities to enjoy, as well as information and opportunities to work together as a community to help support our vulnerable, older neighbours who may be at risk of isolation, loneliness and poverty.

Work with HFS

03/04/2019H F Sactive work, Battle, Bexhill, Catsfield, charity job, charity work, Community, driving, East Sussex, employment, Hastings, HGV, job, jobs, lifting and handling, Little Common, Ninfield, Ore, outdoors, paid work, physical work, Rye, Sidley, St Leonards, vacancies positions vacant, van driving, Westfield, work

Help our team deliver excellent, friendly, capable, professional services for our donors and customers.

You need a full, clean driving license, van-driving and lifting experience, and the ability to work alongside a diverse range of volunteers and trainees.

Job Title Collection & Delivery Driver

Hours Full-time, 37.5 hours a week from Tues-Sat

Salary £17,062 (£8.75 ph)

Contract Initially a 6-month fixed-term contract with possibility of extension.

Apply by 12 noon Tues 9th April 2019

More information and application form

Fantastic Fiver Sale

04/09/2017H F Saffordable, armchairs, bargain, Bexhill, discount, East Sussex, fiver, sale, secondhand furniture, tables, £5

We’re having a sale to clear space in our store for more fab reusable furniture.

The Fantastic Fiver Sale is now on at HFS Bexhill. Armchairs, coffee tables and TV units (and lots more) only £5.

Grab a bargain now!

Click for store location and opening times.

New course dates

24/07/2017H F Sadult ed, adult education, Battle, Bexhill, carpentry, community learning, crafty courses, creative, East Sussex, fixing, free course, funky furniture, furniture restoration, Hastings, making, mixed crafts, paint effects, Rother, shabby chic, skills, tools, upholstery course, workshops

Book your place today for our free / low-cost workshops in Hastings & Bexhill. We are offering:

Furniture Restoration

Beginners Carpentry

Advanced Carpentry

Paint Effects on furniture

Mixed Crafts with upcycled materials

Upholstery for Beginners

Our workshops are a great place to learn new, practical skills in a small friendly group. All courses are 20 hours, over either 4 or 6 days, and usually run on the same day each week.

Course dates, fees and more info here.