Paint, pizzas and wine prove a winning combination

After lockdown, business and life partners Jackie Aislabie and Nigel Jerard at The Workshop started up wine and paint nights and it's been a hit with locals ever since.

Jackie says when painting workshops business Paintvine approached them at their bar, brewery and café on New St it was an easy sell.

"They provide the paint, tutor and canvases and we just have to provide our bar and the pizzas," says Jackie.

Nigel agrees the set up works well for business with Jackie manning the bar and Nigel in the kitchen prepping pizzas.

"It's great, it exposes The Workshop to people who wouldn't have heard of us before and we're seeing these people come back," he says.

Jackie says they have a few regulars that have been coming along to paint and wine nights for months now and attendees tonight agree it's a unique way to spend a night out.

"It's a good way to paint, with one hand with a paintbrush and holding some pizza in the other," says Kerri Stephenson, a first-time attendee.

It's also Brian Grant's first night at The Workshop and as a full-time painter decorator says been great to work with paint creatively again.

"It's good to be able to challenge yourself and get artistic," he says.

Painting tutors Claudia Bustos-Lee and Alicia Ambaubn agree that it's not only fun to host but rewarding.

"It's really nice at the end of the night to see everyone buzzing. So many people come who haven't painted before and everyone ends up so proud of their work and exceeding their expectations," says Claudia.

Wine and paint nights have been running fortnightly on Tuesdays but from May 9, Mother's Day, the nights will be running every second Sunday for $49 per person.

For more information on wine and paint nights at The Workshop, visit their Facebook page.