Celebrating 5 years of my shop/studio & festivities at Wyresdale Park

As the colourful month of November ends, and we head into December I thought it would be the perfect time to launch some new blog pieces, a monthly diary of sorts. A look at what has been happening around me in the natural world, updates on what I’m working on, and news from the shop. An order to my busy mind that I hope will bring a little ‘glimmer’ to your day.

I’ve had a lovely start to Autumn, a pre warm up to the festive season if you will - cold hands around steaming hot chocolates and family time around the bonfire watching the sky light up around me.

Photo: Close-up of a whimsical woodland-themed Christmas card.

Now to December…

It’s a busy month in the shop, and one of my favourites, with lots of people visiting for Christmas shopping. I start my Christmas card designs early in the year, so we get rather familiar with each other, but adding them to the shelves in the shop still fills me with excitement. Popping them in a bag knowing that my creations will be gifted to someone you care about. This year the shop will be part of ‘A Wyresdale Wonderland’ on Saturday the 1^st and 8^th of December 2024, I hope you can pop by my shop and all the other wonderful businesses that are hosted in the courtyard. It’s always really magical at these events and I enjoy them whole heartedly. 

Photo: The Christmas collection in my little shop.

Speaking of the shop...

Can you believe that this month marks five years since I opened?! Nestled amongst the cobbles of Wyresdale Park it still amazes me that this little shop of mine has been a living, breathing thing since December 2019. It’s been quite a journey, and what a special place I now have, surrounded by nature, a place to be inspired and in turn bring a little magic to you. 

Photo: Before I opened my little shop/studio in 2019, featuring its original stable doors.

The shop wasn’t part of my original plan, but now it feels like it was always ‘meant to be’!

Photo: Five years and a LOT of work later – 2024.

How it all started...

With a degree in fashion and textiles my plan was to join the fast-paced world of fashion, but in 2016 I had to have brain surgery due to a brain condition called Chiairi Malformation Syringomyelia which I was born with. This left me with symptoms that effected my day-to-day life and so I began using the quiet times to paint, inspired by our family Boxer dog Melissa, who we had sadly lost. After building up a portfolio of pet portraits, which I still do custom orders for, I began bringing my love of whimsy and nature into my paintings creating nursery and playroom art for children. You may even have spotted my illustrations in a couples of children’s book! The shop became a wonderful extension of this in 2019, and I now use the space as a studio as well as selling my prints. Wyresdale honestly couldn’t be a more perfect place for my shop, the forest and fells at my fingertips, and the rather convenient Applestore cafe situated just across from me. 

Photo: Close-up of the 'Acorn Family' print.

Inspired by the Seasons... 

My November inspirations have come from cheeky squirrels who are everywhere at the moment, if you follow me on Instagram you might have spotted some videos of them running through the trees and burying nuts, they really remind me of my ‘Acorn Family’ print. This time of year, brings such a riot of colour and in Scorton it’s an especially good time to spot the male Pheasant as he scrats through the undergrowth, his colours are a constant inspiration to me. Next week I’ve got two new BIG prints going up in the shop of a Roe Deer and a Hare and they are inspired by my walks from this time last year.   

Photo: My big A1 Pheasant print featured in the Apple Store Cafe.

 Small joys like this make my world go around so I thought I would share a couple more with you:

5 unexpected joys the shop has brought me

1. Customers becoming friends. So delighted to see the most wonderful people return again and again, and how you trust me with your very sentimental and sensitive commissions.

2. Couples that get married at Wyresdale Park. Watching people’s family’s grow is such a joy to me. Starting off with couples buying prints off me to remember their special day, knowing the prints were inspired by and originally painted at their wedding venue. Then coming back to get nursery prints as their family grows. Also having customers decorate especially with my prints in mind and some have even got my prints in every single room of their house.

3. Being surrounded by nature, in a beautiful 'old’y world' setting and being inspired by my daily walks around the estate.

4.  Getting to teach the loveliest like-minded people how to paint in my lovely and relaxing watercolour workshops fro beginners. 

5. If it wasn’t for my shop I probably wouldn’t have met my boyfriend. Now we live in Scorton together and he’s also got the shop next door to me!

Photo: Benjamin and I standing in front of our little 'his & hers' shops.

I hope this has given you a little taster of the Autumnal inspirations that have got me excited this season, you can browse all my Autumn prints right here, I am forever grateful for what the shop has brought me over the past five years. Christmas is such a special time to spend with family and friends and if you can’t make it to the shop during the festive period you can find all my Christmas cards and thoughtful gifts here. Thank you for taking the time to support my small business it means so much to me. 

A very happy festive time to you all.

Carla x