The Hartlepool memorabilia shop marking ten years of supporting people through tough times

Monkey Business, in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, sells Hartlepool-themed mugs, T-shirts, postcards and prints, as well as Andy Capp books.

But the art store has a purpose – with its proceeds going towards helping improve mental health in the town.

The shop is part of charity Artrium, which supports people who struggle with mental health through art-led therapy, as well signposting them to mental health services and helping them get back into work.

It was founded in the early 2000s and opened its studio in Park Road in 2005, before branching out further with the opening of the Monkey Business store.

The shop – which also serves as gallery displaying Artrium members’ work – turned 10 in 2021, with potential celebrations to be planned later this year.

Project lead Katryn Hall has said more exciting Hartlepool-themed items will be on offer as the Tall Ships arrive in town in 2023.

She said: “It’s a growing collection.

"We are trying to support Hartlepool people by selling Hartlepool memorabilia.

"It’s just celebrating the people of Hartlepool as much as we can."

Recently, the shop has also been bringing people together through music thanks to the donation of a piano just before Christmas last year.

Kathryn said: "We’ve seen a lot of people coming in since we’ve had it.

"It’s a different kind of art through music, helping people improve their confidence, improve their mental health through expressing themselves in different ways.“

The Artrium charity is also continuing to expand with a new club for young people set to start in the early summer.

Kathryn said: "We mainly focus on the mental health of adults, but we are now looking into going into supporting younger people as well with the start of our under 18s club.”

She added: "It’s just making sure that we are helping people as much as we can to be the best they want to be.

"The core ethos is people coming together, enjoying art, improving their techniques, giving each other support in doing different kinds of art, from painting to pottery and textiles.”

The shop is open from 9am till 12pm on Monday, Friday and Saturday and from 9am till 4pm on Tuesday and Thursday.

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