End of an era beckons for Waterfront Gallery
The Waterfront Gallery in Stromness will soon be up for sale, as owner Trudi Hall gets back to the craft she began the business with over 40 years ago.
“I’ve got 1984 written on something, so that must have been around about the beginning of it,” said Mrs Hall, who hopes that someone will either continue the business or make it their own.
“We started off with a little pottery on the end of the pier, and then other people brought stuff in to sell.
“You couldn’t make pottery and serve at the same time really — my hands were always covered in clay and people wanted to see silk scarves, you know.
“So we ended up needing to get someone to help, and it escalated, and people brought more things in — and it grew and grew.”
When the opportunity came up for Trudi and her husband Henry to purchase a former drapers shop in Victoria Street, they leapt at the chance and didn’t looked back.
“We had to advertise the fact that we were down here by hanging balloons on the gates here, and we spent a lot of time chasing after people who had pinched our balloons,” she fondly recalled of the move.
“We used to have people coming in who used to come in to the old drapers shop that was here, asking for long johns — and so distraught because we didn’t have any.
“I actually thought that we might have to keep a drawer of assorted long johns!”
What the Halls have built, with plenty of help from shop assistants and the creative community, is a veritable Aladdin’s cave of Orkney-made artwork, ornaments, trinkets and more.
“I would love it if somebody else could take it over and keep supporting all the local artists,” said Trudi.
“Because that’s really what’s needed, you know.
“But we’ll just have to wait and see. Someone else might have another brilliant idea, which would be fine.”
As the 79-year-old prepares to put the shop on the market, she has been getting back to her first passion — pottery.
“I do a bit of it, just for fun,” she said.
“There won’t be the financial pressure on it this time.”