Hello and welcome to marmalade, a new arts and creative space which opened in May 2025 in the medieval, market town of Soham, near Ely, in Cambridgeshire. Marmalade is run by Oyster Community Press CIC, a not-for-profit arts organisation set up by Al Smyth, a designer and printmaker, and his partner Alison.
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marmalade
make it with
We believe that passing on our printmaking skills and sharing our passion for print with other people, will help ‘preserve’ this wonderful, traditional art form.
We have been delighted with the positive response we have had to our workshops, here at marmalade.
​​Our printmaking workshops explore all the main printmaking techniques and are suitable for both experienced artists who want to experiment with printmaking, and newcomers who want to have a go at something different. Our workshops are relaxed and provide a space for you to unwind, meet other people and discover your creativity. As we provide all materials and homemade refreshments at marmalade, you don't need to bring anything with you when you visit us. We'd like to thank everyone who supported our new studio and encouraged us to expand our programme. We will be starting back in September with new courses and workshops for you to enjoy. Details are now available on our What's On section and we are taking bookings.
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marmalade
our life before
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Prior to moving to Soham to be closer to family, we lived in Ipswich for nine years, and delivered printmaking courses and workshops for the public and other artists from our Tower Street Print Project studio. We used the proceeds from these to help us fund free, community printmaking projects and produce regular exhibitions of printmaking across Suffolk.
We also created Ipswich PrintWeek, an annual festival of printmaking that showcased the work of professional printmakers and supported young printmakers to take their first steps towards becoming professional artists.
You can find out more here
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I enjoyed my workshop immensely. We were all made to feel very welcome and received an excellent introduction to this highly enjoyable, skilful, artistic activity