On doing a little stint at my Parent's work while my Mum has been unwell, I naturally had to do my daily trip to the butcher to collect delicious pies. I past what used to be Gullane's little veg shop 'Get Fresh' to discover it is now going to be a beautiful little shop called 'Blackhouse' owned by my family friend Lynn McCallum Barr.
Lynn is a designer in which specialises in goods from handbags to cushions made from handwoven Harris Tweed. She is orginally from Culloden just outside Inverness and grew up within a family and community that was surrounded by the traditional production of Harris Tweed. She now lives in Gullane, East Lothian in which she works from home creating designs and hand-making these wonderful and fun Harris Tweed bags and accessories.
Lynn is a true inspiration to young designers and has shown that with motivation you can go a long way. She began her business by attending lots of craft fairs (a few years ago we visited her stand at the Royal Highland Show, I bought one of her bags!) and through this gaining interest from both customers and those within the craft industry she then set up her website blackhousebags which has made a great success and she now plans to invest in a shop.
She tells me that she is now moving her studio down to the back shop out of her flat in which she shares with her husband Euan, as she has no longer has enough space in the flat and has to actually move things to make space.
She also informs me that she has sourced other Scottish craft designers to showcase in her shop which I am looking forward in having a browse at when the shop opens in the beginning of December. So everyone should come along and have a nosey! Good Luck Lynn!
