A love affair with the Highlands which started 17 years ago is seeing one jewellery business tackle the cost of living crisis by offering a range of products to suit a variety of pockets.
Plockton-based Gilly Langton Jewellery is just off the NC500 route with hundreds of tourists regularly deviating from the hugely popular trail each year to decant into the village situated by “the beautiful bay”, with many visiting the workshop to buy products increasingly tailored to straitened times.
Founder Gilly Langton moved up from her native Lancashire to Wester Ross in 2005 after securing a three-month funded jewellery residency from Highland Council.
But 17 years later and the Chorley entrepreneur is now firmly rooted in Plockton village.
“I moved here for three months in 2005 and fell in love with the place,” Ms Langton told The Press and Journal. “It (residency) was about raising awareness of crafts in the Highlands.
Inspiring children to go to art college
“There were nine artists in total, all different disciplines, ceramics, glass, textiles. I was placed in Plockton, there were people on Eigg, Orkney, various different Highlands and Islands.
“It was about getting the children to appreciate hand-made so potentially I could inspire them to go to art college.”
Ms Langton’s bespoke jewellery ranges in price from a modest £20, soaring to pieces “in their thousands,” but the company founder is noting a distinct shift to the lower end as budgets start to be squeezed in the cost of living vice.
The trend downwards is particularly galling as it comes just after the spending handbrake was initially released following the end of various lockdowns and a more buoyant mood in the air.
Ms Langton noted: “People were so desperate to buy something after returning to real life they were really treating themselves to £300 necklaces and bangles.
“Now it is the lower price point pieces that are going. When I had a private viewing the other night I felt there was a definite shift to lower price pieces.
“I am going to keep my price points about the same but I will be pushing lower price pieces. We have got a necklace at £30 – it is my best-selling piece – it is not really about the elite jewellery buyer.”
Jewellery can also be purchased at Aberdeen Art Gallery
Ms Langton’s career has seen her create a collection for the British Museum and be showcased at London Fashion Week, as well as exhibit at the Museum of Art & Design, New York and Goldsmiths Fair in London.
Her dyed elastic and sterling silver jewellery can be purchased at stockists including the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh as well as Aberdeen Art Gallery.
In addition, Ms Langton is currently running her Big Summer Jewellery Show until 23 July in Plockton from 11am to 6pm every day.
It’s not just the big galleries in Scotland however. She also stocks closer to home with her jewellery available in Kyle of Lochalsh independent lifestyle shop, Strom.
Visitors also can attend her Plockton workshop by appointment to see the jewellery being made first-hand.
That sense of locality is clearly visible in the jeweller’s products which are largely inspired by the beauty of the landscape where they are crafted.
“When I moved here my work was very architecturally-based – now it is more nautical so I am looking at the harbour, ropes, pulleys, buoys and yachts,” added Ms Langton.
“Obviously Plockton is a tourist place but we have a big local following as well.
“The other night we had a private viewing and people from Skye came.”
Backing has come from Highlands and Islands Enterprise
After securing Council funding for the initial residency, Ms Langton has subsequently had help from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
She said: “They managed me for six years and helped me to look at trade shows and buy equipment to improve the business.”
“It allowed me to develop the wholesale collection and go to shows – I went to New York and London.
“I had a business adviser and match-funded support as this area is still classed as a fragile community.”
The pandemic years were clearly challenging for everyone from artisans to multi-nationals, but Ms Langton pushed strongly into the online sphere and hit social media hard while taking advantage of government support.
Ms Langton said: “I took funding available as a sole trader,” adding: “This year I was very worried but it has been healthy so far.”
So what is the Plockton craftswoman’s advice to any aspiring hopeful, who like herself, started off 25 years ago perhaps with a nervous eye to the future?
It’s challenging but I have a beautiful life.”
“Online is must,” said Ms Langton. “They must have a website and professional images. It is a real, hard slog and your work has to be completely unique.
“We are profitable. But I will never be rich. It is challenging but it means I have a beautiful life.”
To find out more, or to shop, visit Gilly Langton Jewellery online.
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