Shopping trends are what We Make of them

We Make owners Lucyna Batura, Anna Bowes and Amy Buchanan. Their shop, studio and workspace is on Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh.

Their business, We Make, launched last week offering customers classes, studios for hire and shopping.

It was when looking for a new studio that Lucy and Anna decided a combined workshop and retail space would be ideal, giving them the facilities to run their own sessions and a shop window for their work. It was also an opportunity to team up with Amy, a fellow trader on the craft market circuit.

“Lots of people think that high street retail is a thing of the past, with everything going online, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you can do things a little differently there are ways to make it work,” says Anna, who specialises in ceramics.

“In this kind of business – selling hand-made items with all their variations – people still like to see before they buy. They also like to see where something has been made and who has made it. It just brings something extra.”  The retail space at We Make will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from next month. The rest of the time it will be a working studio, hosting a range of regular workshops, with shopping by appointment.

“On a practical level it’s great that we can pool our resources to create a wonderful space. But there are other benefits to having three creative people under the same roof, in terms of inspiring and motivating one another,” adds Anna.

“We also find that the things we produce as individuals work very well together. We all make very different things so that means, between our different styles, there’s something for everyone.”

Anna’s stylishly functional pots, plates and planters are complemented by decorative wood and resin objects and jewellery created by Lucy and a range of stationery, cards and prints from Amy.

We Make, 18 Montrose Terrace, 0131 466 0078, www.wemakeedinburgh.co.uk. Also on Facebook and Instagram.