Since we signed the lease in February 2020 we have been working on exciting plans to use our unit at 2 Barn Street Mews as a creative hub for the community, featuring workshops, creative writing courses with Frets Words, photography workshops and much, much more.
Lockdown in late March scuppered plans for an early opening, but with restrictions easing we are delighted to be able to announce our early plans for the unit from mid-July.
We are delighted to be working in partnership with Creative Strathaven CIC to open a retail space and gallery featuring work produced by around 40 artists and makes from around Strathaven and further afield across Scotland.
Mhairi Anderson of Creative Strathaven CIC has confirmed that its shop and gallery will open at the Frets Creative arts hub in 2 Barn Street Mews on Saturday 18th July!
Mhairi said: “We’ve had to keep this a secret for weeks so you have no idea how excited we are to finally be able to tell you. The shop is a great big celebration of makers and artists who are locally based, or who live slightly further afield. But, everything is made, designed, or up cycled in Scotland. It’s a bit like last year’s Pop-up Shop but even better (and permanent).|
As well as all of the products by the artists and makers, Creative Strathaven is going to sell art materials so that you can buy them locally instead of traipsing into Glasgow or Edinburgh, or waiting for things to be delivered.
On that note, due to the delay in opening (blame Covid-19) some makers have had to pull out of stocking the shop. That means, there’s some space for more makers to have a space in the shop. If you’re interested in selling your products with Creative Strathaven, just fill out the application form by following this link: https://forms.gle/wK7q3A6Mvv9RxSwu9
Mhairi said: “We’ve already got a wide variety of products but could do with some more homeware, stationery, skincare and cosmetics, and prints. There will also be space for wall based products as we’ll have a gallery rail system.” Creative Strathaven has a website at www.creativestrathaven.co.uk. It also has a presence on Facebook and Instagram.
The aim of Frets Creative is to work with Creative Strathaven CIC and others to eventually establish an arts space at 2 Barn Street Mews where lots of different events and exhibitions are held. Douglas MacIntyre, one of the partners in Frets Creative along with Echoes co-editor Les Hoggan, said: “I live in Strathaven, and felt there was a need for a centralised space in the town for local arts organisations to utilise, which in turn would give greater focus to Strathaven and local artists. With this in mind we established Frets Creative, to help establish an arts centre in Strathaven.
We have set up various strands of Frets covering creative writing and music lessons (Frets Words/ Frets Music Lessons) and we are really excited to be working with Creative Strathaven CIC in setting up gallery space for artists and makers in the Frets Creative Barn Street Mews hub. We have lots of plans for the space, including working with Euan and Gill Fraser on a project called Open Space.”
Les added: “Mhairi and I are planning to run photography workshops later in the year. These will be a mix of tutorials in our workshop space at Barn Street Mews and practical sessions out and about in and around Strathaven. We will be starting these workshops just as soon as Scottish Government guidelines allow. In the meantime I’ll be doing taster photography blogs on my website at http://www.leshogganphotography.com.”
Douglas added: “My main responsibility is running Frets Concerts, which I run in the Strathaven Hotel. We opened October 2019 with an acoustic concert by Lloyd Cole and most recently had Norman Blake and Euros Childs in concert. We are planning on starting up again in October with The Bluebells and have acoustic concerts booked for Robert Forster, The Skinner Songbook, Roddy Woomble, Grant-Lee Phillips, with others to be announce soon.”
For all queries relating to Frets Concerts contact info@fretsconcerts.com
For all queries relating to Frets Creative contact info@fretscreative.com
FRETS CREATIVE 
Can’t wait to visit the gallery and see what else is happening!
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