Creative Community
For all that is arty and crafty, make your way to West Kilbride
AS Scotland’s only designated craft town, West Kilbride makes for a unique and quirky destination to visit. The idea was launched back in 1998, when the West Kilbride Community Initiative Limited decided to regenerate the town, using arts and crafts as a focus.
Now West Kilbride boasts eight artists’ studios offering both classes and work for sale. You’ll find sculpture, glass artists, fabric art, a silversmith, painters and even an artist who creates unique bear figurines.
Claire Edgar, retail and business development manager at Craft Town Scotland, praised the initiative for bringing the town together.
“West Kilbride is an excellent example of a community-led regeneration project, using creativity as its driving force,” she says. “The village has become a destination for anyone with a love of making and creating. West Kilbride is a wee hidden gem.”
Craft Town Scotland is also home to the Barony
Centre, a restored church which opened in 2012 after a £1.7 million renovation. Claire describes the Barony Centre as “culturally unique and one of the most unusual all-round galleries on the west coast of Scotland”.
The centre offers numerous regular craft workshops and classes, alongside an exhibition space which showcases the very best in local art. There’s even an award-winning café in the Barony Centre, in case all that crafting proves thirsty work! Whatever your crafting preference, if you want to learn or to buy, you’ll find it in West Kilbride. This is a wee Scots town with an amazingly arty twist.