Glasgow art teacher opens first gallery in Newton Mearns

A local artist in her community, Karin and her husband, David Hepburn, came up with the idea to save their unit by turning it into Newton Mearns’ first art gallery, Studio Two Six One.

Karin and her husband first took over a salon on Mearns Road in December 2019 but were forced to close around 10 weeks later due to the coronavirus outbreak.

She told the Glasgow Times: “We just didn’t get a proper crack of the whip with it because Covid came in.”

Karin, who has been working part-time as an art teacher in Kilmarnock since 1995, was uncertain about what the future would hold for the business.

She said: “It became a failing business due to the impact of the pandemic.

“Elderly clients that used to come in didn’t come out anymore.

“One thing led to another, and about [eight] weeks ago the last two hairdressers left.”

With years left on their lease, Karin’s husband suggested they turn the space into a gallery.

The landlord granted the couple four weeks to turn the ‘change of use’ around on the unit.

Karin, who studied at Glasgow School of Art, had recently achieved her ‘life-long ambition’ of a solo show, which also meant that all her work was on display at Irvine’s Harbour Arts Centre.

She reached out to any and every Scottish artist she knew and started putting the gallery together.

She said: “I painted everything white, installed a tracking system for the spotlights, and a hanging system for the paintings to go on.

“Obviously, these are difficult times and I thought, I need to have a kind of smaller-scale gifts section for the general public to come in.”

Karin acknowledged that “not everybody can afford to buy original art”, especially during the cost-of-living crisis.

To make the gallery more accessible to the wider community, Karin brought in a variety of artisan gifts from Scottish makers and a series of different art classes.

She said: “This has happened in such a quick turnaround, in the space of six weeks.”

Karin, who is still working as an art teacher, has been juggling her day job with her growing gallery but is excited to be at the helm of her own art space.

She said: “The community love it. They’re absolutely delighted because we have nothing like it in the area.

“I have felt very much like it has been a sliding door situation where we’ve turned a negative situation into a positive, and it’s been really well received by the locals.

“The amount of people that say this is just what the community is needing, so as well as the arts and the walls and the gift area, I’ve also got tables set up for classes.”

“It’s turning into a real creative hub.”

So far, Studio Two Six One hosts a number of different classes like jewellery-making and festive wreath-making over the holidays.

Karin currently has 17 artists and 22 retailers in the gallery, all of whom are Scottish.

She said: “It’s a situation where I thought, yeah, here’s an opportunity, let’s do it.

“I’ve exhibited in a couple of places but to have your own gallery, it’s magnificent.

“And I do hope that we can expand into different collections and entice different artists to come on board.”

“It’s good to have some established names but it’s fantastic to have the locals excited about my eclectic selection of work.”

She added: “I think my goals for 2023 would be to have an artist of the month and to continue to showcase Scottish talent.

“I’d like to get some younger, new, homegrown talent on board and also continue with private views once a month, and also on a Thursday evening, building events into the local community.”

Studio Two Six One is dog friendly and has well-established parking for anyone travelling by car.