Sarah Jane Hanton Creative Spirits Ambassador

My name is Sarah Jane Hanton, I am proud and delighted  to be Creative Spirits Ambassador for Waterford Cultural Quarter.

It has always been important for me to express myself creatively by connecting with people through creative ideas and by interacting with diverse individuals resulting in opportunities that evolve into thrilling conversations, projects and experiences. I am the owner of The Parlour Vintage Tea Rooms situated in the heart of “Waterford Cultural Quarter”.

I’m also one of the founding members of Waterford Walls and have been an active participant in the creative sector of Waterford since my teens. As ambassador and a creative entrepreneur I feel its important to highlight the benefits of culture and creativity and how these elements can regenerate an area, making it a more vibrant, exciting and creative place to live, work and visit.

My favourite thing about the WCQ is the diversity of people, language and cultures in one area. It’s a colourful community made up of students, different ethnic groups, local residents, businesses and tourists availing of the many accommodation providers in the area. The special history of this quarter from the merchants tales to the Quaker influence is fascinating and should be remembered accordingly.

I feel it is important to engage and encourage  the different stakeholders to take ownership and pride in our City with the by-product being a more vibrant and closely connected community.

Waterford is part of an UBRACT network of nine European cities – this network is called Creative Spirits and its aim is to create an “ecosystem” of creative places, business and people to boost creative entrepreneurship in dedicated urban spaces.