Forward Motion

This past year has of course been an unusual one for everyone; some will have seen little effect, others will have had life changing experiences. Many businesses will have met their end while others will have found an opportunity and forged ahead. With the uncertainty caused by having to close our doors, reopen in an uncertain climate, close again in November (at a crucial time for any shop) and again in January this year for three more months I wasn’t convinced we would come through the ordeal. But opportunities arise and the chance to relocate Six Seasons Gallery away from its space at Maws Craft Centre to a prominent position on the main shopping street in Church Stretton presented itself.

I’d not been particularly happy at Maws for quite a while; we had a lovely trading space after two reshuffles of the courtyard but the centre has always struggled to build an identity. At one point there was a really strong collective of art and craft led businesses but for numerous reasons quite a few moved away and forward momentum stalled. While the interior of the gallery looked great we struggled to attract people through the doors as the old Victorian factory buildings had very small windows and therefore no way to display externally. Things needed to change, the gallery needed to move but where to?

Having made a shortlist (Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Church Stretton, Ludlow and Newport) the final came down to Ludlow with it’s larger town centre, castle and other tourist attractions and growing reputation as a food destination or Church Stretton at the heart of the Shropshire Hills with a smaller but equally diverse range of quality shops and it’s huge attraction to outdoor enthusiasts. Ludlow had premises available more often but these were often too small for my needs and rent prices there were also quite high. Church Stretton has many long established businesses and retail premises hardly ever come on the market.

But one day in late February I just happened to be driving through en route to a viewpoint where I could take my mum and sister to sit and enjoy a coffee when we spotted the ‘To Let’ sign over the door of an empty double fronted shop. To cut that long story short I have now been open for three months and am finding my feet in the new location where the new shop shop has been met with a very favourable response.

Now is the right time too for this brand new website to show my work. It’s hard to believe that the last one was launched back in 2011 thanks to the hard work of Tim Parkin. My issue in recent years has been my inability to make changes to major parts of the site without having to go back to Tim and request his help or direct input. Glitches with upgrades and plugins and security certificates have plagued it for the past few years which have disabled elements of the site and more critically meant that I was unable to make crucial updates and edits or even add links etc. I’m really happy with the look of this new site and am delighted to be able to manage it entirely on my own.

I hope you enjoy your time exploring the site.

Thanks for visiting.