We are two parents who wanted to create a special group for toddlers and preschoolers to experience arts, crafts and lots of messy play without compromising our sanity in setting such activities up at home. You will usually find both of us at the sessions.
Dawn Dadswell
I qualified as a teacher in 1997 and worked in a variety of London schools until I started my family. I initially trained to teach in key stage two but gained a lot of experience with the foundation stage and key stage one in the last three years. It's very exciting working with young children - their enthusiasm for enjoying learning never ceases to amaze me. After a complete life change which involved moving to Belper, I set myself the challenge of working for myself and when Gill approached me with the idea for a messy play and arts group - well it seemed the perfect idea. I'm responsible for the planning and activities at Artful Splodgers, and my two little ones 'help' me by testing everything at home.
Gill Murphy
I come from a totally different background to Dawn, having graduated in Psychology in 1998 and worked in the rail industry until having my son, Conor in 2005. I always had a desire to work for myself and run my own business, but nothing inspired me until I began to look for activity groups to attend with Conor. I was surprised at how little there was for children of his age in our area and decided to set something up myself. Conor gave me the idea for art and messy play, as he loves getting his hands dirty and being creative. I approached Dawn who aside from being a good friend was a creative person herself and a qualified teacher. I like to think we make a great team! I run the business side of Artful Splodgers.
