For a lot of students going to university might be the first time they have a space to call their own, and for some it can really be an upgrade, especially if you’ve had to share your space at home with a sibling.
So, you move into your new little room in student accommodation and it’s a blank canvas and one of the biggest question on your mind is, “how do I make this space my own?”
Looking online is always a great start. You can find all sorts of amazing dorm rooms for inspiration, you can even find the top ten ways to use fairy lights - if you’re as obsessed with them as I am, but you’re going to need more than just fairy lights and a few posters to really make your mark.
The dorm rooms online can only get you so far, you still want to inject a bit of you into it I think the best way to do that is to add something unique or quirky to your room, something one of a kind.
Here in Huddersfield there are all sorts of places you can go to find unique items and even find bits and pieces so you can make stuff yourself if you’re an arts and crafty person. I, however, am not so instead I go to the next best thing: The Byram Arcade Craft Fair!
If you’ve not been before, the Byram Arcade is located on Westgate and is a small Victorian shopping centre which has three floors. And the craft fair takes place on the second Sunday of each month and is perfect for finding something that will set your room apart from the rest.
Everything is handmade, reasonably priced and it has a wide variety of vendors who are all really passionate about the work they do.
But the Craft Fair isn’t all that the Byram Arcade has to offer, it also hosts fairs for vinyl so you can maybe find that one rare record you’ve been searching your whole life for, and it’s also home to lots of individual shops that are open not just during the craft fair but every day and are exclusive to Huddersfield!
Crafty Praxis is one of my favourites as it’s a treasure trove of handmade goodies that are perfect for gifts to give to your friends and loved ones.
Then, on the second floor there’s this really cool gothic/witchy shop called Hidden De-Lights. I think that name says it all really. You can buy cute dream catchers, crystals to make your own necklaces for good fortune and even find some vintage fashion.
After you’ve explored what the arcade has to offer, you can treat yourself to a tea and a slice of cake in its lovely coffee shop, you can even book out its study room and have a study session with your friends if the library environment isn’t cutting it for you. The staff are super friendly, and they have a great selection of vegan and gluten free options for you to try as well.
I’d highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t already!
And take a look at some more student blogs on things to do in Huddersfield.
If you like this article and want to learn more about life as a student, visit Lucy's author page.
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