AS people spend more time at home taking up creative hobbies, a shop stocked with arts and crafts has opened in Bicester.

cCrafts opened its doors for the first time on Saturday at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre on Oxford Road.

It is the third branch in the country to welcome new customers after the launch of the brand by former Hobbycraft CEO, Chris Crombie.

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More than 15,000 products are on offer for people to get stuck into hundreds of creative activities.

Mr Crombie opened a Hobbycraft store in the same location back in 2008, but it has since closed. He has come back to revive the town with crafts.

He said: “It’s been like a homecoming for me and my new retail business. I’ve always enjoyed coming to Bicester and when I heard that Hobbycraft had closed down I was determined to bring crafts back to the town.

“My vision for cCrafts is to offer the best products, located in a convenient store environment, together with exceptional customer service. I believe our new store ticks all those boxes and with gusto.

"There’s never been a better time to stock up for the long Autumn nights or even try a new hobby.

"We all seem to be spending more time at home at the moment and creative pursuits are perfect to spend the time, either alone or with the family. In fact jigsaws is our number one hobby at the moment.”

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The team at the Bicester shop is led by general manager Richard Dance who cut the cake at the shops opening day on Saturday.

He said: “The response to our new store has really blown the whole team away. We knew from feedback that customers were really disappointed when Hobbycraft closed down, but we simply weren’t expecting the level of excitement we’ve seen about our new store.

“All of our team are passionate crafters and I know their love of crafts will really shine through to every customer they meet. I want cCrafts Bicester Avenue to be the go-to destination for everything creative.”

Bicester Avenue Garden Centre is also home to other shops such as Tog 24. cCrafts is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm and on Sundays from 10.30am to 4.30pm.