Judith Glue gift shop in Inverness is a family business with an ethical view
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
One Inverness gift shop started off in Orkney back in 1979 and has been in the city since 2009.
Judith Glue set up the Kirkwall outlet as a way of selling her Orkney Knitwear Designs which were influenced by the island’s landscape, history and light.
Laura Sinclair Martin, who has been the Inverness branch’s manager since March 2017, said they now also sell knitwear creations produced by Mrs Glue’s daughter, Annie Glue, who is also based on Orkney.
And it is a real family affair because customers can also buy artwork produced by Mrs Glue’s twin sister, Jane Glue, and Mrs Sinclair Martin said calendars of her work were always popular.
She said: “Judith has got a wonderful ethos – she looks to buy as many local, quality products, as possible.”
As well as being locally made and Scottish, a lot of the items on sale are Fairtrade and biodegradable.
Mrs Sinclair Martin said they had moved the shop’s distinctive neon sign inside the premises after giving the exterior a new look.
She said: “It is very different and we’ve hung onto it because Judith loved it.”
They reopened on July 2 and she said she had been looking forward to welcoming back customers and getting back to “some sort of normality”.
She said: “It has been so heart-warming the amount of support we’ve had from everyone because they want to give their money to independent shops.”
Mrs Sinclair Martin said the support provided by Inverness BID was appreciated and added: “They have done so much good work to support independents over the years.”
