We Moved! The Story Behind Our New Stornoway Shop
This summer brought one of the biggest changes in Alice Catherine Jewellery history so far — we moved!
After about a year of chatting with the owner of our new shop, we finally got the keys to our new space on North Beach in June.
Getting the keys to our new shop June 2026
Why did we move?
Our old shop on Kenneth Street wasn’t ideal for a number of reasons, but the biggest one was simply that it was in a super quiet spot.
I had wanted to move for quite a while and had viewed a number of different spaces around Stornoway, but I knew I didn’t want to move just for the sake of moving. It would have been a huge amount of work (which I definitely wasn't wrong about!), so I wanted to wait until somewhere came up that I really loved.
And I LOVE our new spot on North Beach.
So, we waited.
New Shop on North Beach
Getting the keys
When we finally got the keys in June, we had a lot of work ahead of us.
The shop definitely needed a makeover, but we were also really tight for time. Summer is such an important time for us, and I wanted to make the most of being in this gorgeous, central spot during the busy season.
So we got to work!
And when I say we, I definitely don't just mean me.
Gemma, our Studio Manager, was painting for days. Mairi, our Bench Jeweller, cleaned and cleaned and pretty much sorted the old studio out completely.
My father-in-law and my own dad tackled all of the electrical bits. My friends Callum and Harris somehow managed to move our ridiculously heavy counters, while my friend Lorna helped loads with all of the logistical bits and generally kept me from panicking.
And Angus, my husband, probably put in more hours than anyone. I appreciate it a whole lot more than I have probably ever actually let him know!
I'm definitely missing people too. It really was a massive team effort and I am so grateful to everyone who helped us get there.
Ready for opening
Opening our doors
After the craziest month, we finally opened the doors to our new shop on the 30th of June.
And we have absolutely loved it.
Being right in the centre of Stornoway has made such a difference. We have a giant window looking out onto North Beach, which is lovely for displaying jewellery but, more importantly, is excellent for people watching!
Then came something we genuinely weren't expecting.
Our first full month in the new shop brought our best in-person sales of all time. Our shop sales more than doubled in July compared with June.
It was amazing and, if I'm being truthful, also a tiny bit scary!
Moving the shop had felt like such a big decision, so seeing the response during that first month really made us feel like all of the hard work had been worth it.
Gemma, me and Mairi on opening day
What's next?
The move has actually changed how we work much more than I expected.
The increase in sales meant we needed Mairi at the bench making jewellery for the shop most of the time, and I very quickly discovered that putting me in a busy shop and expecting me not to spend all day chatting to customers wasn't particularly realistic.
Which led to another pretty big change behind the scenes at Alice Catherine Jewellery...
I've now set up an entirely new jewellery studio at home!
I'll save that story for another post, because there is LOTS to show you.
For now, if you haven't visited us yet, you can find our new shop on North Beach in Stornoway. We would absolutely love to see you!
Alice xx