Hello Stokies,
If you need a reminder of just how much creativity, ambition, and community spirit runs through our city, you’ve picked the right month to check in.
We’re starting this edition with some exciting news: the brand new Made in Stoke website is officially live. It’s built to make connecting, sharing stories, and finding opportunities easier than ever. Take a browse and you’ll see our city and some brilliant Stokies, thanks to the generosity of time and talent from newly graduated photographer Cat Toft, who captured fresh, authentic images for the site. We think she did a fantastic job – and we would highly recommend her to our wonderful network.
The creative momentum hasn’t stopped there. Following its debut, we’re reflecting on the fantastic success of Stoke’s very first Book Festival – a week-long event that proved just how hungry our communities are for great stories and shared cultural spaces, leaving one visiting author declaring us the friendliest city (we already knew this, of course, but it’s always lovely to hear!).
We also marked a major milestone recently by hosting our first-ever Philanthropists Network gathering. It felt entirely fitting to bring people together at Middleport Pottery – a place rooted in our industrial past, now playing host to a dedicated group focused on funding and shaping the future of our city and Made in Stoke.
Tangible things happen when people invest time, talent, and belief back into where they come from. Add a little treasure, and the possibilities are endless. So explore the new site, dive into the stories below, and see what’s possible when we back our own.
Enjoy the read,
Welcome to the new Made in Stoke website
We’ve rebuilt our digital home from the ground up. As our network has grown, we wanted our online space to truly reflect the ambition, energy, and character of the city we champion.
The first thing you’ll notice is a revamped look and feel that brings our brand colours front and centre - clean, bold, and distinctly Stoke. But this redesign goes far deeper than a coat of paint. We’ve overhauled the entire user experience to make navigating our world effortless. Whether you’re looking to connect with local talent, explore community stories, or tap into upcoming opportunities, finding what you need is now simpler, faster, and far more intuitive.
A huge thank you to Creative Director at EPiK Ant Phillips, a member of the Made in Stoke network who volunteered his time to help us refresh our brand strategy and communications plan.
Take a look around, see what’s new, and make yourself at home.
Cat Toft Photography
Great imagery is all about storytelling, and for our new website, we wanted visuals firmly rooted in the real Stoke-on-Trent. To capture that essence, we collaborated with Cat Toft, a fresh 2026 photography graduate from the University of Staffordshire who kindly donated her talent and time to help us build something special.
Our brief to Cat was straightforward: document "people and places" - seeking out the genuine grit, character, and everyday spirit of Stokies right across the local landscape. The results speak for themselves throughout the site, and we’ve included a small gallery below. Cat approached the project with brilliant instinct and care, producing a collection of work that feels grounded, vibrant, and unapologetically local.
Collaborations like this represent the very best of our creative community. We are endlessly grateful for Cat’s generosity, and we wholeheartedly endorse her work to the wider Made in Stoke network. She is an exceptional emerging talent to watch, and we cannot wait to see what she turns her hand to next.
Contact Cat:
Email: catoft.photography@gmail.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cattoft/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/@catoft_photography
One book closed on the very first Stoke Book Festival
What a week it was! Events took place across three main venues, Stoke Minster, the YMCA and Stoke Library, with outreach events in local schools and at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery taking the festival out into the city. Over the week, it welcomed six established and award-winning authors to Stoke-on-Trent for talks, readings and conversations, and brought together more than 60 local authors for a social event and publishing panel celebrating the wealth of literary talent we have in North Staffordshire.
Young readers were at the centre of it all. Over 4,000 children from 42 schools across the city joined bestselling author and illustrator Nick Sharratt for an unforgettable draw-along, bringing castles and dragons to life. More than 300 children then took part in exciting, challenge-filled sessions with award-winning author Christopher Edge at Port Vale and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, sparking curiosity, creativity and problem-solving.
A special moment was partnering with UHNM Charity to donate books to young patients at Staffordshire Children’s Hospital at Royal Stoke, so children on the wards have new stories to enjoy. A particularly heartfelt moment was when a mother of a premature baby was able to read their first book thanks to the book festival. All books were flown in by our magical Paige Turner, the literary fairy; you can watch their video about the donation here.
The festival also aimed to bring new ways to experience the power of words through Story Tea: tales from the teapot, creative writing, music performances and poetry evenings with the city's very own Poet Laureate, of which a local resident was 'over the moon that a free poetry event was on just down the road'.
Behind the scenes, new volunteers joined the festival team, and it couldn’t have been done without them. A huge thank you also goes to the official bookseller, Vellichor Books, and to everyone who took a story (or five) home. Lots and lots of books found new readers this year! Including new books donated to the Stoke-on-Trent Libraries by Epoque Press during the festival.
Everything always comes back to why the festival was started in the first place: access to books. The festival's mission is to make books, reading and listening to them as accessible as possible to everyone in the city. This year was the first of what hopes will be many in the series.
Stoke Book Festival will return in 2027. Follow on social media to be the first to hear what’s coming next, and keep an eye on stokebookfestival.co.uk.
Reflections on Our First Philanthropy Evening
Earlier this month, Made in Stoke partnered with SORBUS.org to host our very first Philanthropy Network - an evening dedicated entirely to conversation, connection, and community.
There were 16 of us in the room, gathered around the table with a straightforward intention: bring together local philanthropists, listen to what drives their giving, and offer a promise of no ask. In typical Stokie fashion, the irony wasn't lost on us when the single most common question by the end of the evening was: “So, what is the ask?!”
That instinctive drive to get stuck in sums up the spirit of our area. Relationships and deep local insight are at the heart of meaningful change. While we kept our word and left fundraising off the agenda for round one, we’ve promised the group that our next meet-up will offer clear, tangible opportunities to get their cheque books out and make an impact.
Made in Stoke exists as an exemplar of place-based philanthropy. We are backed not only by incredible people on the ground here, but by a passionate global diaspora who continue to champion Stoke-on-Trent wherever they find themselves in the world. As one attendee put it so aptly on the night, it’s all about “taking the love of the area with you.”
Philanthropy is about much more than funding; it is a vital catalyst for placemaking, bringing people together around a shared belief in what our city can become.
Our sincere thanks go to Andrew Emery and the team at Middleport Pottery for generously hosting us - there could hardly have been a more fitting backdrop to kick off this journey. Most of all, thank you to everyone who joined us and leaned so fully into the discussion.
If you share a passion for Stoke and want to invest your time, talent, or treasure into our community’s future, we’d love to start a conversation. Simply drop us a line or get in touch through our new website.
Contact: deb@madeinstoke.com
Be part of the Made in Staffordshire Christmas gift guide
Applications are now open for the Made in Staffordshire Christmas Gift Guide. This digital guide will showcase the very best products, experiences and services from businesses across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, helping shoppers discover local gift ideas and support local businesses this festive season. It is a great opportunity to reach new customers as part of a county-wide Christmas marketing campaign. Made in Stoke members can benefit from the same discounted participation rates as Made in Staffordshire members.
For more information and to submit your application, visit: Made in Staffordshire to launch Christmas 2026 Gift Guide - Made in Staffordshire
Ready to back our city?
Made in Stoke is entirely powered by people stepping forward. Whether you’re based just down the road or championing us from afar, there are plenty of ways to play your part, whether that be with your time, talent or treasure. Reach out to a member of the team and we will see how you can help support our mission:
sam@madeinstoke.com
deb@madeinstoke.com