A unique shop offering high quality products hand-made in Scotland using tartan has opened its doors in Friars Street.
A Wee Favour is run by talented Claire Fell and sells a wide range of accessories including scarves, bridal bouquets, wreaths, bow ties, handmade tartan bears, handfasting ties for weddings, bags, brooches and tartan wraps.
Claire, who creates the majority of the goods herself, also offers personalised embroidered products as well as traditional bespoke hand-made kilts.
In addition, she collaborates with other Scottish firms including Edinburgh- based Gordon Nicolson Kiltmaker who design and distribute the official Scottish National Team tartan which Claire sells in store.
She also stocks exclusive items from the collection of hand-crafted jewellery designer Moon and Dusk and soaps from the Hebridean Soap Company which are hand-made with natural ingredients on the Isle of Lewis.
Claire says: “Everything we sell is handmade – much of it in Scotland – and that’s the main ethos of the business. We believe in ensuring craftsmanship in all our products and it’s great to have opened the shop so local people and tourists can pop in and have a look at our range.
We provide souvenirs for visitors to take home, lovely Scottish tartan gifts and a wide range of wedding accessories – so there is something for everyone at A Wee Favour.”
Claire and her husband Iain opened A Wee Favour on November 20 last year at 11 Friars Street – premises which were formerly home to the Boys’ Brigade Supplies Depot.
The shop opening was the culmination of Claire’s success in turning a long-term hobby into a flourishing business venture. She previously worked as a civil servant for the Scottish Courts Service and after getting married discovered an interest in making wedding accessories which grew after she embarked on a sewing course with Transition Stirling and began creating pieces.
She says: “I started making bits and pieces and tinkering about with ideas. I made some tartan roses and thought I would try and sell them on Facebook and that proved successful. Then I started making bags and brooches and the online business just slowly grew from there.
I really fell in love with tartan and one idea that really took off was making handfasting ties which are an old Scottish tradition. I was asked to make one for a wedding and before I knew it, I was making hundreds of them and being recommended by celebrants to their clients which was fantastic.”
Claire also undertook a kiltmaking course and now sells bespoke handmade kilts to happy clients. She says: “I never had a specific plan – it was just organic growth and it got to a point where I decided to stop running the business from our home in Broad Street and take on premises nearby.
It was a leap of faith but it’s fantastic to have a shop so people can come in and see the products and it’s nice to have everything out of the house.”
Claire, who works in the shop with Iain, is happy to make any of her products to order and is open to customers’ ideas. She says: “If you happen to see a bag you like in the shop then it can be made in any tartan you want. Anything people see or have as an idea can be made to order in tartan and it can also be personalised.
I also enjoy helping couples find the perfect accessories to complement their wedding day whether that’s personalised handfasting ties, tartan wraps, garters or bow ties – they are all available in their chosen tartan.”
A Wee Favour is open from 10am until 5pm on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The shop is generally closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays although can be open by appointment if required.
You can pop into the shop or check out the website for more information – www.aweefavour.co.uk
More details and product photos can also be found on the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/aweefavour17 and on Instagram –
www.instagram.com/aweefavour17/?hl=en
A Wee Favour is also on Twitter – @weefavour
