How was the flag designed and who was involved.

The Sustainable Crediton flag was designed by Paula Mossman, the facilitator of Sustainable Creditons Waste Action Group and Ann Thomson a Sustainable Crediton supporter and keen crafter, with help from Bridget one of the artists in residence. We used the Sustainable Crediton Logo as our main theme and added other images we felt represented some of the key tenets of our organisation.

What the images represent/mean. Why certain colours were chosen.

Central to our flag was the main part of Sustainable Crediton's logo, a pink flower shape on a square white background. The white square represents Creditons Town Square and the pink flower shape within it denotes the structure of Sustainable Crediton - a central Core Group represented by the centre of the flower and a number of Action Groups spreading out from that represented by the petals. Pink and white are the colours Sustainable Crediton uses on its website and all its publicity material so we wanted to use these colours  prominently on the flag. We also added a tree and the sun to represent our environmental aims and a 'controversial' windturbine to represent our belief in the necessity of developing renewable energy. 

Who made the flag and where (at home or at the workshops) How long it took.

Paula and Ann made the flag over a period of 3 half day sessions at the workshops with some welcome assistance from Bridget and Charlotte the 'artists in residence'. Paula did the cutting and pinning and Ann did almost all the sewing. We had to ask for assistance  with the last little bit of sewing as Ann hurt her finger a day or two before we were due to finish the flag off and was unable to use the sewing machine. We send our thanks to the anonymous volunteer recruited by Charlotte who did the last bit of work for us. We were disappointed not to finish it ourselves but were grateful for the help.

Any thoughts/comments about the process (positive and negative). What you enjoyed about it. The most difficult, challenging things.

The most challenging part was designing the flag and choosing the most appropriate colours. We initially wanted the whole flag in pink and white but were persuaded by Charlotte and Bridget that it was more powerful visually to use a stronger colour (blue) for the background and we were subsequently pleased with the finished flag although we did not feel it 'shouted' Sustainable Crediton in its design as much as we might have liked. We particularly enjoyed learning how to put the flag together, a completely new concept for us both, and felt we had learned a fascinating new skill by the end of the process.

Any comments about the whole project and its impact on the High Street and wider community.

The flags look fabulous flying along the High Street and we are very proud to see ours flying over the Arts House shop. The flags add a really festive feel to the Town greatly enhancing the Cred Fest and it would be lovely to see more flags created and flying in 2014 to make a truly end to end display along the High Street and also possibly down Market St and around the Square. This could really make passing motorists stand up and take notice of Crediton as they drive through, as well as being of great enjoyment to the local population. Might also be nice to have some kind of a 'guess the shop/organisation' competition for the flags as part of the Cred Fest 2014 to get people really looking at them and working out their designs!