The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Love at first sight as farm shop fantasy comes into fruition
It was love at first sight when Nicola Sanderson spotted the potential in an empty building “right at the heart” of Alford last year.
The former after-school club, just off Main Street, had been vacant since 2021.
While some might have just seen another empty unit, a sadly common sight across most town centres, Nicola and her husband Paul thought otherwise.
The couple had always hoped to sell off their farm in Dumfries and Galloway and move to Aberdeenshire
The north-east, with all of its picturesque castles, lively towns and “community feel”, was the perfect place to raise their sons Arthur, 11, and Joel, nine, they thought.
It was Nicola’s passion for “all things art and antiques” that led them to the Alford Heritage Museum on the day they spotted the building.
The family instantly fell in love with the Donside town and its “friendly vibe”.
And before they knew it, they were plotting a move to make Alford their home.
From there, the Sandersons’ journey has been nothing short of a rollercoaster.
Within months, Nicola and Paul bought the former Alford Day Nursery at 25 Main Street and called it quits with their lives down south.
The property was a perfect match, Nicola says, as it had enough space to open their dream farm shop, as well as providing a home.
And once they moved to Alford in August, the former history teacher immediately threw herself into sprucing up the site to get it up and running.
“Everything happened so quickly, but that’s just how we roll,” Nicola said.
“I don’t even know what happened, to be honest... we just saw this place and instantly thought it would make a super farm shop.
“It also gave us the perfect base in Aberdeenshire – we can live and work right at the heart of the community.”
The two-storey building has now been transformed into a mecca for “all things Scottish” – with the addition of some special items.
From locally-made jam and puffin-themed chopping boards to fine art and antique furniture, the aptly named Farm and Fancy shop has “everything for everyone”.
The second floor of the shop is now filled with “unique” paintings and furniture – some dating as far back as the George I era.
Collecting such heritage items has always been a passion for Paul and Nicola, who describes herself as a “history geek”. And she admits their home bears a rather similar feel to the shop.
All of the furniture used in the store to display the array of arts and crafts – bar one rogue crisps stand – is also antique.
“It started more as a hobby – me and Paul being collectors ourselves – and so it just seemed like a natural progression to open an antique section as well,” Nicola said.
“There are so many stories behind all of these pieces, which is my favourite part. It’s like owning a little piece of history.
“Visiting sites like Craigievar Castle or the like is one thing – but having some of this castle chic, as I call it, at your own home is something totally different.”
Meanwhile, the ground floor of Farm and Fancy is a “celebration” of locallyproduced food and drink, as well as gifts, arts and crafts.
This is another feature that stems from the couple’s background, Nicola explains.
Paul has been a farmer his whole life, having taken over his grandparents’ family farm down in Dumfries and Galloway – producing rare breed beef, goat and lamb.
All of this will also be on offer at the shop, once they relocate their cattle to Aberdeenshire next month.
And while Nicola wasn’t born and bred in a farming family, she quickly took a liking to it when they got married 13 years ago.
“It’s a shop of lovely things,” Nicola said.
“And there is a great variety of all. We are trying to get things that will appeal to everybody but the theme running through is that Scottish feel.”