Home is where the business is!

This month marks the start of an exciting new era for So Close Studio.

Some of you know that our lovely little East Devon home is attached to the studio where we design and print all of our products. We love the very short commute, the amazing town centre location and the charm of our cob walled house, parts of which date back to 1875.

The plot has a great history, having been a dairy yard until the middle of the 20th Century. Our landlord John showed us the places on the yard wall where the daily bumping of the horse and cart wore grooves in the brickwork, and where he added an oak beam himself to extend the house over the yard that connects the two buildings.

It was John who developed the studio part of the property, expanding his bespoke picture framing business by converting the dairy yard into an enclosed space with large windows and high ceilings. And it was John who approached us about the possibility of buying the property, so that the space he built to house a family and their business side by side would retain it’s special purpose.

This month, our dream of finally owning 66 Fore Street came true! It’s been a long term goal that’s taken some serious work to achieve and we couldn’t be happier.

Now the hard work of acquiring the property is over, we’re enjoying a creative flourishing with plans to revamp the front of the space and add a colourful mural to the courtyard garden inspired by Claire’s trip to Miami last year. We’ve got ideas for planting schemes and are excited to restore the elegant but rusted iron gates which are the first thing visitors see - we’ve already bought some new garden storage and are giving the whole place a de-clutter to mark the start of this exciting new phase in our lives!

East Devon life is perfect for us, with a small but vibrant city and England’s largest moor both on the doorstep. We’re looking forward to many more happy years in the place we love, doing the work we love with the people we love, and continuing the proud tradition of this site which has housed generations of family businesses.