The Artisan Gift Studio opens in Morpeth but Oldgate Gallery is closing this week

The Artisan Gift Studio has opened at 7 Oldgate, replacing The Chocolate Gallery which closed earlier this year. However, Oldgate Gallery will close on Friday (March 31) after 20 years.

April and Ray Dobson felt that Morpeth was an ideal location to open The Artisan Gift Studio. A range of unique, hand-crafted gifts made by artists and makers are available priced from £3 to £100 and everything in-between.

The couple live in Newbiggin today following some interesting life experiences. For example, April used to make old fashioned teddy bears and this involved spending some time in Japan.

She currently also works part-time as a head of dementia care and so as well as being interested in crafts generally, she has seen how crafting can be used for therapeutic reasons.

April added: “The response so far from the people of Morpeth has been positive and it is encouraging for the artists and makers we use to see that people are interested in their work.

“Many of them are people we know well, such as one of my cousins who is a fused glass artist.

“We’ve also linked up with renowned chef Alistair Walklett, who had second thoughts about retiring and set-up AWesome Chocolates. They taste amazing and we thought it made sense to cater for the people who came to the shop when it was The Chocolate Gallery.

“We enjoy shopping in Morpeth and a big factor in us choosing the town for The Artisan Gift Studio is that Morpeth has a good reputation in the region for having a wide variety of independent traders.

“We recognise the importance of sustainability and so quite a few of the things for sale are repurposed items such as former jeans being turned into hats, aprons and bags.”

For more information about the shop, go to The Artisan Gift Studio Facebook page.

Meanwhile, a message on the front of Oldgate Gallery states: “After 20 years on Oldgate we will be closing on March 31st.

“However, there is a plan to offer a mobile/online farming service and gallery in the future. Further details will be posted at www.oldgategallery.co.uk

“A big thank you to all customers for your support over the years and hopefully see you again soon.”