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After becoming a mother, Sally Morgan battled with post-natal depression and felt like she had lost her identity.

But as her mental health declined, Sally decided to do something about it and pursue her passion – arts and crafts.

Having worked in a variety of admin jobs in the past, the mum-of-three set up her own business, Queen Bee Crafts, which ran between 2018 and 2020.

Then, in December last year, having spent lockdown creating a new business plan, Sally launched Create Caerphilly on St Fagan’s Street in Caerphilly town centre – in what was formerly the Butcher and Ball Dog Café.

Create Caerphilly, which is a café promoting arts and wellbeing, is based opposite the Peacocks store and has a variety of creative activities for children and adults alike – as well as employing four part-time staff members.

“I lost my identity when I become a mum,” Sally, 38, told Caerphilly Observer. “I wanted to do something to help my mental health.

“Arts and crafts gives me focus and being creative is part of who I am. Some people like running or swimming, but I like to make something.”

As well as Lego play sessions, the café also runs an after-school crafts club, toddler groups and birthday parties. For adults, the café has activities such as sewing and crocheting.

Sally said: “I want to focus on skills and wellbeing and just to be a place where people can come and chill out and take a few hours for themselves.

“I like to bring creatives and the general public together to show the skills, passion and hard work involved in creating art.”

Sally has big ideas for her project, with aims to introduce sewing and crochet activities, as well as a men’s shed and workshops with organisations like Barnardo’s.

She also has plans to introduce an equipment lending scheme, giving people the chance to borrow things they might not be able to afford, such as sewing machines.

“I like the idea of people coming together to share skills, especially with the way the economy is.”

She added: “I want people to have a welcoming, safe space. A place that’s accessible for wheelchairs and mums with prams.

“I’m a mum-of-three, so I understand kids can’t sit still, so we’ve built a space where parents can relax.”

She continued: “Not every kid likes sport. I wanted to give something that wasn’t sport-based and show kids there are other things they can do.

“The community side of it is important – it’s great to have something in the town centre which is in walking distance from the car parks and bus and train stations.”

Speaking about the joy she gets from her new venture, Sally said: “I love the workshops. My favourite thing is to give everyone the same tools and equipment and see everyone make something different.

“Seeing people use their own creativity and find their own creativity and seeing how proud they are of something they’ve made.”

While Create Caerphilly is a limited company, Sally has also set up a community interest company (CIC) – Create Caerphilly Skills and Wellbeing.

The CIC runs a variety of workshops aimed at reaching out to people in the community and engaging them through arts and crafts.

While Sally runs the company on her own, she runs the CIC alongside her husband James and friend Claire Donnelly.

James is no stranger to community work himself, having set up the Toy Box Project in Caerphilly during lockdown.

Claire explained: “People are more likely to keep something up when they have others doing it with them.

“People come here and can draw on others’ expertise. This place allows people to share ideas and pick up ideas – nobody is snobby, everyone is welcome.”

Sally concluded: “I’m not an artist – I have no training – but I tell people to enjoy the creative process, not just the finished product.”