By Lauren Cameron

Copyright inverness-courier

A much-loved feature on Nairn High Street is celebrating a major milestone this month, as Crafty Wee Birdie marks 10 years at the heart of the town.

For business owner Iona Hampson, reaching a decade in business is both an achievement and a life-long dream realised.

Iona grew up in Nairn but moved to Aberdeen to attend to attend Grays School of Art, staying on to start her family. Retail had long been part of her life, but when her employer closed down, she returned to her “crafty roots,” making bracelets, cards, and other handmade goods.

“I was always very crafty”, she explained. “It’d always been a dream to have my own shop.”

She also co-founded the Aberdeen Ministry of Crafts, connecting with makers and designers across Scotland.

“There wasn’t really a market in Aberdeen city centre at that point”, she explained. ”So me and a friend started the Ministry, and through this I met so many different crafty people, designers, makers, and talented people that we have in Scotland.”

But after losing her dad, she felt the pull to return home.

“My mum was on her own, so it just felt like the time was right.”

Opportunity soon followed. “This shop used to be Eliza-Kate Crafts, and I was selling some of my wares there”, she said. “When she mentioned she was moving on, she asked whether I would be interested in doing something here – it just seemed like the perfect opportunity, like the stars were aligning.”

So, with her family in tow, Iona came back to Nairn and took the leap.

“That’s how Crafty Wee Birdie started!” she said.

The name came to her in a flash. “It was a lying-in-bed ‘ping’ moment,” she laughed. “A lot of the card-making I was doing at the time was around birds.

“And I’m not very tall in stature, so it just seemed to say ‘me’!”

From day one, the shop set out to offer something a little different. “We put a spotlight on all our talented Scottish makers”, she said. “I think we offer something that maybe the mainstream shops don’t offer – the service. It’s a bit more personal.”

Looking back, Iona she says reaching ten years in business has been hugely rewarding.

“I feel really proud”, she said. “We’ve got through COVID, and we’re still here – without the support from the locals wouldn’t be.”

However, she admits that opening the shop was “nerve-wracking.”

She said: “The High Street had been struggling for a while, so this was a big scary leap.

“If it didn’t work, I didn’t know what I was going to do, we’d uprooted the whole family.

“But the visitors and locals have supported us from the very start – they’ve been a real support on our journey.”

Running her own business has been a steep learning curve for Iona.

“You need to learn lots of different strings to your bow, and just hit the ground running”, she said. “Web design, selling online, social media, everything – it was all a challenge, but you’ve just got to get stuck in and do it.”

Through it all, Crafty Wee Birdie has built a loyal customer base.

“We’ve got loads of regulars, regulars from in town, but also regulars that come up to Nairn on holiday, that have like come from the very beginning, which is really lovely.

“Even people come in that have visited our markets when we were in Aberdeen as well. So that is just lovely.”

To mark its 10th anniversary, Crafty Wee Birdie has been treating customers to ‘10 days of giveaways’ on social media, with prizes donated by makers, as well as 10% off for loyalty card holders in store.

But for Iona, the real joy lies in the everyday moments: “The customers make my day”, she said. “No two days are the same – you never know who’s going to walk through the door and the interesting chats that you’re going to have in your day.

For anyone dreaming of starting their own business, Iona has some words of encouragement: “You’ve just got to trust your gut and dive in feet first.

“If you fail, you fail – but at least you tried.”

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