AN ARTISAN bakery is on the rise after finding a permanent location in the town centre.

Kelly Eardley has opened Deerstones Bakery in The Arcade, in Market Street, Colne after a nine-month stint at a friend’s restaurant.

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The former Pendle Council worker said she was delighted to move into the former Itzy Bitzy’z unit after the town was named the county’s ‘capital of cool’ last year by Tourism Lancashire.

The new venue opened on Monday with a special taster session and managed to sell out of some products during its official public launch on Wednesday.

Miss Eardley said: “I’ll be making loaves by hand using the finest organic flour.

She added: “I hope to bring something both traditional and new to bonnie Colne, now better known as Lancashire’s capital of cool.”

Miss Eardley, who has attracted a raft of customers to her fledgling business using social media, said that she was looking forward to working alongside Colne’s thriving independent businesses.

She also plans to share some of her favourite recipes, including her speciality sourdough, through regular bread baking classes.

She said: “I’m really excited to have my own shop in Colne and look forward to welcoming new customers to try artisan bread, which has real flavour and is additive free.

Miss Eardley even shared some of her bread-baking secrets with us.

“I use a natural yeast starter I call Betty,” she said.

“The loaves take three days to prepare, with a long, slow ferment to create a tangy, flavoursome loaf.

“My love of baking real bread has led me to a career change to enter the world of artisan bread,” she added.

The bakery spent nine months at La Dolce Vita, in Albert Road, an Italian deli run by Miss Eardley’s friends, Sara Mumby and Sarah Lee.

Miss Lee said: “Deerstones Bakery adds a new dimension to what Colne can offer, making it an even more interesting and friendly place to come and shop.

She added: “The Arcade will be soon be filled with the delicious smells of pain au chocolate, croissants and warm bread.”