Definitely Mabie
Our long awaited move has finally happened. As is so often the case with such tasks, it all took much longer than anticipated.
Over the last few weeks we have been busy getting ourselves established in our new venue at Mabie Steading, next to Mabie forest, near Dumfries. We’re so pleased to have been offered a space in such a beautiful courtyard and it’s an ideal place to be situated for this next phase of Old Mill Arts, especially with having such an extensive forest right on our doorstep.
Our new space consists of a main workshop space with a through door to another room where we have set up our shop. We no longer have a gallery, instead the emphasis for this shop are the excellent books Edward selects, our hand crafted art materials, other beautiful bits and pieces and a little artwork for good measure. We plan to be open as much as we can during the Autumn, in and amongst the numerous workshops we have booked in, both here in Dumfries and Galloway and further afield.
The new studio and shop are both on ground floor level which is much more accessible than before, and there is an accessible toilet in the courtyard which is great.
We are lacking signage to Old Mill Arts at the moment, however, soon we shall have plenty displayed to make it clear how to find us.
The new venue is a fair bit smaller than the mill so it was an interesting challenge to fit in our rather numerous possessions!
To commemorate our new space we invested in some rather snazzy blue folding chairs and a couple more tables for the workshop space. Lucy has been busy putting up some excellent new shelves and we’ve had a really satisfying time having a right sort out of everything.
Finally getting there
On Saturday 13th September we hosted our first workshop in the new space, A Palette from Plants, beautifully fitting as this was the first and last workshop we ran at the mill.
We also welcomed some friends for a drop in ink making session looking specifically at drawing and writing inks made from different trees. We want to encourage and offer more drop in sessions in the time ahead as well as evening classes.
The Steading is beautifully situated right on the doorstep of the extensive Mabie forest. Numerous trails and walks wind away into the woods from where we are, making outside forays and gathering trips, much more possible to include in our workshops.
On one corner of the Steading there is also the recently opened Stables cafe, an ideal spot for some sustenance while coming to visit us or before heading off into woods.
