A charity calendar depicting prominent Lavenham businesses in a very different and natural light will soon be hitting the shelves.

A light-hearted and tasteful naked calendar, entitled ‘Lavenham Bares All’, will see well-known individuals and companies shed their clothes – and their modesty.

Showcasing the picture postcard village in such a quirky way was the brainchild of Lavenham resident Sue Clark with all proceeds from the calendar going to the village’s community council which is currently looking to fundraise for a new pre-school building.

Sue, manager of the village hall, said the idea first came about after she organised a similar fundraiser to celebrate the performance of the Calendar Girls at the Quay Theatre in Sudbury.

She said: “The calendar is a light-hearted way of looking at a lovely village. Everyone knows about our beautiful buildings and the history and this shows that the businesses involved have a sense of humour as well as a charitable spirit.
“We need to raise £400,000 for a new, purpose-built, pre-school building which will also be used for other organisations to hire out.
“We hope most of this will come from grants but we have already raised £10,000 and we hope the calendar might double that.”

While the identity of all 12 businesses posing for the calendar is being kept under wraps until September’s official release, Sue said she was delighted with the response and reaction from within the community.
Sue did reveal that staff at the award-winning Great House had agreed to model for one month with the photoshoot taking place this week.

Owner Regis Crepy, who is also chairman of the Lavenham Forum, said: “We were only too happy to support this very worthwhile cause and it is wonderful to see 12 different businesses take part and show such a commitment to our community.

“It was something a bit different, and a bit of fun, and I would like to thank my staff who agreed to take part with me – many of whom came in especially on their day off.”

Sue added: “All the businesses have been so supportive – we could have done an 18-month calendar such was the response.

“All the shoots have been very tasteful and also good fun. Regis and everyone at the Great House were a wonderful example of that.

“We thought this would be eye-catching and a great way to raise money. We have already had orders from as far away as the United States and New Zealand.

The team behind the calendar, which will cost £10 and has been taken by Mike Hodges Photography, are planning a “big reveal” in September where the identity of all 12 businesses will be revealed.

Anyone interested in pre-ordering or finding out more can contact Sue on 01787 248599 or email lavenhamvh@btconnect.com.