Exciting news! I’m moving to new premises very soon – and they’re right in the middle of Grantown.

My partner Jane and I have bought the former Bank of Scotland offices on the town’s High Street. It’s a lovely listed building, built between 1865-7 when it was the Caledonian Bank.

Sadly the bank closed around a year ago, because of declining customer numbers. It’s a shame as it was one of the last banks opened in the whole Badenoch and Strathspey area. It has lain vacant ever since and went on the market in the summer.

The perfect space

When the ground floor came up for sale, I knew it would be perfect for a studio – the open space and the location are brilliant.

As you know, I moved to a unit in the local industrial estate more than two years ago and I’ve loved the chance to have dedicated space for my work.

But inevitably, things have expanded and it’s time to move again. It’s also been an ambition to have space to run classes and workshops and the bank definitely provides that.

The plan is to have a workshop space, a pottery studio; gallery and shop – there’ll be more information soon.

Work in progress

At the moment, it’s about getting the space ready. We’ve been busy painting inside and there’s a new floor coverings going down in one of the back rooms (the ones that the public never saw when it was a bank!).

Plus there’s lots of plans on paper – hence why I’ve been a little quiet on the blog over the last few months. But it’s all systems go and I’m looking forward to showing you what we’re doing.