Here is some Big News news…
I’ll get straight to it – I'm going to be winding up Heavy Gretel as a physical shop and moving over to developing my own products and art. My partner Bob & his tattoo team are going to move downstairs to my former shop and I'll be setting up a studio space upstairs where I can run my business. I will be online still, developing my own work and, in time, running workshops. Once I have developed a body of work I’d like to pop up at markets and exhibitions and so forth.
The past three years running the shop has been a positive experience. I have learned so much practical business ‘stuff’ I had no idea I was capable of! I have also learned where the edges are and it’s really brought into focus where my priorities lay. It’s made me realise that I really want to dedicate myself to making. The intention always was to do that, but I’d imagined that by this stage the shop would have permanent employees so that I could disappear into the background and develop my practice as a maker. The pandemic & financial downturn has meant that this hasn’t happened, and I don’t know with the way things are when it would happen. Juggling running the shop and doing my own making hasn’t worked the way I envisioned.
You might think “Oh no! That’s so sad!” and that’s ok. But I’d like to let you know: I’m not sad, I am excited. One of my proudest personal qualities is that I am open to change & not being afraid of trying out new things.
So, I am taking a big step and choosing to change direction with Heavy Gretel. I’m going to set up my own studio space on the upper floors of the shop and run it as Heavy Gretel Studios, making my own work.
I’d like to say thank you to my lovely customers who shopped here time after time, the talented makers who chose to stock their work with me and to my family & friends for the support over the last three years.
Over the next few days I’ll be reducing the prices on various products at the shop, so please do come in for a browse or look at the website for the sale – a lot of items will be reduced by 50%.
Although this is ‘goodbye’ to the physical shop, it is also ‘hello’ to a new direction – I’ll still be here, just in a different guise!