The move north - from London to Shetland

I’ve recently taken the plunge and moved with my jewellery workshop 800 miles from one end of the country to the other!

Having spent 23 years working in London and Glasgow, developing my trade and building a business, I felt the change was needed to allow me to expand the business, get closer to nature, and spend more time with family back home.

The Goldsmiths’ Centre is an inspiring community of jewellers and friends. I won’t be there full-time from now but I’m thankful that it’ll be my base when I’m working in London and as a Gold Member I’ll still be a part of the wider community.

I sent most of my belongings home in a truck, leaving me free to travel light and enjoy the ride north on Silver (my beloved Triumph Street Twin 900)

I stopped along friends and family, spent time in the Peak and Lake Districts, and felt unexpectedly emotional as I crossed the border into Scotland.

The smell of the North Isles ferry car deck signified the last leg of the journey! It’s a trip I’ve made many times but this time was more poignant - I wasn’t visiting home, I was moving home.

My sister and brother-in-law kindly let me use their ‘Mabin’ (Man-Cabin!) as a temporary workshop whilst my new studio was taking shape (I shall update you on that in another blog). The welcome I received at the annual Christmas Craft Fair was quite overwhelming after a couple of months of intense making and renovating. And my stall winning ‘Best in Show’ was the icing on the cake!