Blairgowrie & Rattray Hub Magazine - Winter 2021

News & Articles
It’s been a busy summer with lots of UK visitors
to the town coming in to see us. We’ve hosted
workshops for Its BRAW, Perthshire Open
Studios and are expanding our gift shop. The
PKC Granny Square project was a roaring
success with over 3,000 being made! We are
holding weekly ‘sewing up’ events every
Wednesday from 10-2. Just pop along if you can
help.
We plan to start running workshops this Autumn/
Winter and details will be on Nest’s website and
our Facebook page. Sheila Roussel has joined the
team one day a week to run our Creative Wellbeing
workshops and create additional craft kits to help
us raise funds. Our gift shop supports around
forty makers all of whom will be revving up for
Christmas and producing seasonal craft products
demonstrating their skill. If you have a creative
project and would like our help, or if you’re a
crafter and would like to sell in the shop please get
in touch via our website or Facebook Page.
In this Hub edition, we meet Kelly McIntyre of Kelly
McIntyre Photography and Video Production who’s
one of the resident artists in our downstair studio
spaces. So, in her own words, she says “I’ve found a
filming niche that encompasses my values -being creative, compassionate and community minded.
I like exploring what’s going on in our community groups in Blairgowrie and around Perthshire.
Getting to make films about interesting people I meet and the amazing projects they’re involved
with is a bonus, it’s always an education. I’ve worked with PKC Rural Leader fund, PKAVS and
VisionPK making films about local groups such as the Blairgowrie Players and Community Action
Planning around Perthshire. Filming means I’ve had unforgettable experiences, amongst them a
flight at Balado airfield, a bungee swing at Highland Fling and I know I’ll always be welcome for a
soup and sandwich lunch at The Atholl Centre in Pitlochry.
“I love being a resident artist at Nest as I’m surrounded by creative people to share ideas with and
learn new skills. There’s always a buzz around the place with different volunteers, shop visitors and
various creatives popping by so there is always scope for skill sharing. It makes being a sole trader
less isolating, and I get to try my hand at whatever comes through that door.
“I’m forever in the treasure trove that is the remnant shop. I get lots of embellishments for
my Christmas wreath making at my family Christmas Tree farm Sholach Christmas Trees in
Blairgowrie. Halloween has given me the opportunity to experiment further with wreaths. I’m
making Halloween themed zombie apocalypse wreaths and have been dismembering freaky dolls
and painting gore on them. In these pandemic times it’s therapeutic and gets rid of negative energy
- creatively reusing and recycling materials that would otherwise go to landfill.
“My spare time is spent binge watching box sets like Breaking Bad, Dexter and Game of Thrones.
I love anything post-apocalyptic - zombies, viruses, EMP, aliens - The Road by Cormac McCarthy
is one of my favourite books and I’ve watched the film about six times. I should be a doomsday
prepper – stockpile tins of tomatoes and peaches in my underground bunker!”
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