A brand new 'first of it's kind' gaming store will open up in Arnold town centre with an 'amazing range' of popular games. Friends Zoe Clarke, 55, and Saphia ‘Phire’ Clarke, 51, are planning to open a shop in Arnold which will sell a huge range of Board Games, Circus Skills equipment and related hand-made wooden crafts.
The two set up Dice and Balls, a Community Interest Company, to help locals through board games and circus skills workshops. After years of hosting games events and gatherings, Zoe and Saphia are due to open a ‘community gaming hub’ in Arnold.
In April, they were set to open their gaming shop Dice and Balls on Front Street, Arnold, however the plans fell through after the landlord’s wife fell ill. Now, Zoe and Saphia are securing a unit in Arnold town centre and are ‘beyond excited’ to open their new shop. “The beauty of board games is that it brings people together,” said Zoe.
Has your business been affected by the cost of living crisis? Have your say
“You’ve literally got a set of rules there, everybody is included, nobody is left out and we thought wouldn’t it be great to combine this with our love of circus skills, and bring it to a wider community to help people who are socially isolated.
“We thought ‘wouldn’t it be great to bring this together and help the community?’ We set up the community interest company so that we can run events and have a profit back into the community.
“The aims are to have the shop there, the profits from the shop will be to host events that we set up working with schools, care homes, and bring the joy of games and come together.”
As well as a huge range of games, the new store will have a big table where people can go in and play games together. They will also host fully inclusive events that are accessible to all.
They both highlighted the importance of inclusivity amongst their gaming community and having a space for those who are socially excluded. Saphia explained that the idea for the gaming community came from seeing her kids, who have special needs, and their friends come out of their shell after playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.
Both Saphia and Zoe thought they could bring this to the community.
Saphia said: “Eventually they just open up and they just play and everybody just really enjoys it, they enjoy the atmosphere we are really inclusive of. We have such a good approach with them and they tell us. They just go away buzzing and it’s just lovely and that's what keeps us going to see the change of how they've come and how they are at the end. It’s great.”
The two friends will also bring exciting circus skills workshops to the new shop. Saphia, who works in the NHS, first began working in circus workshops in 2000 for 15 years. She recently got back into it, along with Zoe who has been stilt walking for over a year.
Zoe and Saphia, who have been friends for over 30 years, are currently in the process of securing their unit in Arnold. The two are yet to have a date for opening, but they hope that it’s ‘soon’.
Zoe continued: “This is really a dream that we’ve got, it’s all we talk about. We are constantly chatting with each other, we have loads of ideas in the pipeline and in development. It's beyond exciting."
Some of the ideas the pair have involve working using the profits to help the community, either directly through very low-cost, or even free, fully inclusive events that are accessable to all, or indirectly through donating to local charities.
Zoe added: “If it does fall through we will definitely look into other premises in Arnold it is going to happen no matter what.”
READ NEXT:
Mum scarred for life after 'violent' crash on smart motorway
Wide load lorry halted for second time in one day in Nottinghamshire after hours blocking road
Fears large Arnold shop closure could become 'eyesore' if replacement not quickly found
Outpouring of love for Nottingham pizza restaurant Oscar & Rosie's due to close
Nottingham mum-of-two 'cannot catch a break' as DWP rejects PIP application
