A NEW artisan shop with creative arts and craft workshop space is to open in the West Wight next month and will also raise funds for a local charity.

Whistle and Hound will open next to Mrs Middletons Shop, Freshwater, on Saturday, April 6, and will focus on introducing people to contemporary and traditional crafts.

It will be run by Marianne Cheung, who has spent the past ten years working from her Totland studio home as an illustrator, children's author, photographer and dressmaker.

Marianne has created an original Isle of Wight Fishermans Gansey jumper in collaboration with knitwear designer Gail Middleton of WearDowney, exclusively using Rowan yarn to raise funds for the Freshwater Independent Lifeboat.

She said: "Whistle and Hound have some very talented designers and makers on the Island plus a huge amount of independent UK businesses.

"I've had lots of encouragement from local businesses, especially The Freshwater Coffee House, who are great supporters of the lifeboat.

"I'm hoping our Isle of Wight Gansey will also bring in funds for them and raise awareness of the work of all lifeboats and their crew across the Island.

"A couple of Islanders have been in touch to let us know they are, or have, knitted a gansey, so we are going to ask people to get in touch and organise a mini-exhibition of everyone's knits at the Lifeboat Station later in the year.

"The Island currently has no official Gansey, or Guernsey jumper as they are also known.

"They are traditionally made for those working in the fishing community with the yoke of each Gansey having distinctive designs to identify the port of the wearer.

"Gail has created an original Island design and the first men's and women's jumper completed with be auctioned for Freshwater Independent Lifeboat later in the year."