Over the autumn and winter of 2025, R.C. Thomas (Stoke resident, writer, illustrator and Plymouth Laureate of Words 2025 – 2027) collaborated with The Village Hub to bring creativity and connection to Stoke and the wider community.

As part of that work, we invited Rich to find a way to better connect the businesses of Stoke Village. He went door to door, putting business owners and staff on the spot to write a line of poetry about what makes their business unique to the Village. He then put those lines of writing on a canvas, and filled it with doodles.

Finished in February 2026, the canvas started out on a tour around the village. 19 out of the 25 businesses and organisations who participated hosted the canvas in their premises for one week each before passing it themselves to the next business in line until July 2026.

R.C. Thomas said “This has been a really fun project to be a part of and I am looking forward to seeing the response from the businesses and the public alike. We hope it will create conversation in our community.”