When you pass through Iochdar next you might do well to call into Hebridean Jewellery to get your Christmas shopping sorted and possibly even get yourself a milkshake or a bit of lunch. Established in 1974, the business now is owned by the staff of Hebridean Jewellery.

‘In 2011, John decided he was going to retire and rather than putting it on the open market, he offered it to the staff to buy as a staff cooperative. So, the majority of the workers are shareholders within the company and we also run another shop in Stornoway and in Portree. In Portree the shop is called Crocks & Rocks, which is a joint partnership with Uig Pottery.’

John, of course is jeweller and designer, John Hart.

In the beginning, way back when in 1974, John put an advert in the West Highland Free Press looking for premises for his new business. A response then came from Mr. and Mrs. MacPherson in Iochdar and then, off John Hart went on his bike to set up his workshop in the old byre that the MacPhersons had allowed him to use. The old barn, come gold mine, today has a shop and café to go with the workshop and they also ship worldwide through their online shop.

John Hart’s designs are still used in the shop to this day and his fathers designs are also part of this legacy. These designs have been inspired by the Book of Kells and the Sueno’s Stone and other ancient standing stones. Billy MacPhee tells us that;

 

‘John’s father worked alongside Alexander Ritchie. This is in the 1940s and 1950s. And he was very much part of the revival of Celtic jewellery and worked to supply Iona Industries.

John obviously learned the trade from his father and then passed his knowledge on to some other local people here in Iochdar. We still use John’s father’s designs, John’s designs, and then we have some new designs coming from the current staff. Fiona, Neily, Margaret, Katie have come up with several new designs in the last few years which have been really popular. The culture of the islands, you know, shines through in the designs.’

When you look in the cabinets of Hebridean Jewellery these Celtic designs shine through and the inspiration of the country and the islands are there. Some of the pieces come from historical places like Iona Abbey, Arbroath and Elgin and the local landscape. Asking Margaret and Neilly in the workshop how they make new jewellery they said:

‘You know, you look at other people’s work and you might take ideas from certain things and it’ll evolve into a different idea. One idea might lead to another, then further down the line, you’ll have something. It’s hard to specifically say how it works.’

‘Music is important to me. And the culture too, so some things it can be that or the environment and the scenery we see sometimes.’

 

 

‘The Gaelic language also plays a part within our designs. We have a range of Gaelic pieces which we are proud of.’

 

 

‘I just think I saw something and got some inspiration from it. I quite like the entwined circle so I try to use that.’

Some of these new designs, to name a few, include The Hebridean Celtic Circle, The Mini Torque, The Islands Collection and The Hebridean Star.

As you walk through the shop in Iochdar, you will find yourself in good company in their café. A local favourite haunt for soup and a scone, a panini and a milkshake or a fancy coffee and a slice of cake. Recently they’ve started hosting Cèilidhs in the Café, giving the local community and visitors the chance to meet and listen to some music together. These Cèilidhs happen on every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 12-2pm

‘We have good food and there’s a nice atmosphere and it brings people together.’

Like any business, Hebridean Jewellery faces its own challenges. That main challenge which is hitting every business in the country at the moment is the cost of living crisis. However, they are keeping on and facing these in the best way they can. 

‘It’s a case of at this moment in time, we’ve just got to be really careful and protect what we have. We’ve just going to keep our feet in the ground and keep going forward as we are and see what’s going to come out within the next year.

 

Where people are and they’re not spending what they would normally spend and you tend to find that all shops within the retail sector are having a hard time.  What we want to do is obviously grow as a business and we want to protect our brand, which is so important.

We have solid, quality, handcrafted pieces here and that’s how we want to continue. 

In closing my chat with the Hebridean Jewellery staff, Billy mentioned in his parting words that:

We would like to thank the local community for the support that they have given us over the years. It’s so important and we appreciate the business that they’ve brought to the shop, the cafe. Overall, it’s the whole business. 

If you’d like to finish off your Christmas shopping at Hebridean Jewellery you can shop online or visit their shop and café at these times: 

20th Dec 9am-5pm

21st Dec 9am-5pm

23rd December 9am-5pm

Christmas Eve 9am-4pm

27th Dec 9am-5pm

28th Dec 9am-5pm

30th 9am-5pm

Hogmanay 9am-4pm

Hebridean Jewellery will then reopen on the 6th of January.