My husband and I, along with our 2 children, moved to Hythe in February 2014 looking for a change. I had been itching to get back in to life on the high street having previously run my own galleries in Skipton and in Dover, as well as having sold original paintings through Buckingham Fine Arts Publishing. I looked to the local area for inspiration and started to produce some originals focusing on our own local landmarks. With the rediscovery of Dungeness, an area I had not visited since childhood, I found a new source of inspiration.

 

With myself as artist and with my husband lending his I.T. knowledge we managed to create this range by digitising my pen sketches and adding background colours afterwards, This allowed us not only to re-produce works but also to customise colour options for our customers. This led directly to my first range “The Coastal Collection” which has been my most successful to date.

 

With the new ranges of work I found that I was running out of space, the dining room table was getting rather cluttered and the pictures seemed to be all over the house! I looked at the options for my own studio space at home and found a company on line who could build and deliver a shepherd hut which met all my needs. As this became my studio space I felt more and more attached to it and I knew it would play a part in my work in future. 

 

When the opportunity arose for my own gallery in Marine Walk Street I was delighted. As well as being impressed at the space on offer I was struck by the similarity of the interior to the finish of my own Shepherd Hut, the resemblance really was uncanny.

 

This is how Shepherd Hut Studios was born on May 2nd 2015 and we have spent our time since then expanding our initial range of images to encompass multiple styles and subject areas, both from customisable ranges such as the Coastal Drama and Mist ranges as well as prints and originals of my own paintings.

 

As well as expanding our products to include lampshades, placemats, coasters, cushions, lavender bags and cards, the shop has now changed to a beautiful old building over 2 floors in the centre of Hythe High Street but our fascination with our local area and our desire to add more styles and products has not changed at all. We look forward to continuing to add more and more to our little gallery over the coming years.

 

Andrea and Howard

 

Shepherd Hut Studios

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