ÒR: Making Craft a Feature on the Isle of Skye

The harbour town of Portree, capital of the Isle of Skye, lies on the east coast of the island, overlooking a sheltered bay. The brightly coloured buildings of its harbour front are framed by cliffs, themselves set against the mountainous Cuillin beyond. It was the wild beauty of Skye’s landscape that inspired the creation of Òr, and the island remains at the heart of Òr’s work today.  

Òr’s two shops, both in the centre of Portree, sell a wide range of contemporary craft alongside art and design. There is also an expanding online shop. The founder and owner of this thriving retail business is the jeweller Jennifer Carter Pearson. A team of nine works across the shops, offices and packing rooms, some of them also makers and artists themselves. Her business partner is her husband, Andrew Tait, an architect, whose skills provide additional support.  
 

Image: Window display at Òr / Photgraphy by Hannah Morris

Jen studied jewellery and metalwork design at Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee. Early in her career, she worked for a couple of years at the well-known Edinburgh jewellers, Joseph Bonnar. She credits this experience with giving her the skills and confidence to later run her own shop.  

In 2011 Jen and her husband moved to Skye. While making jewellery in her home workshop and selling it direct at craft fairs, she realised Skye lacked a retail outlet for quality contemporary craft which could stock her work. She decided to fill that gap. In 2016 a Prince’s Trust loan allowed her to open her own small craft shop in Wentworth Street. The name of her business (the Gaelic word for gold) was chosen to evoke the local culture, her own making discipline and a sense of quality.  

Although her premises occupied a great central location in Portree, the shop had little room for displaying larger pieces. In 2018, when a more spacious unit became available nearby at The Green, Jen barely hesitated; within two years, Portree found itself with two quality craft shops. Between them, they offer a wide range of craft; from ceramics, homeware and throws, to knitwear and jewellery, complemented by a selection of prints, artists’ cards, books and stationery.  
 

Image: Ceramics for sale at Òr / Photgraphy by Hannah Morris

Unsurprisingly, Òr’s customers include the thousands of visitors who arrive on Skye during its main tourist season between March and late October. But importantly for its resilience, Òr’s shops also attract strong local support from all over the island, especially during the winter when visitor numbers fall off.  

Òr stocks work by well over 200 makers and artists. Jen and her team work closely with them to develop “a sense of connection between artist and buyer…We believe when you buy authentic craft…you are connecting to the person behind the pieces and their story, investing in a person and a place.” When selecting stock, Jen has a clear idea of what will work in her shops. Òr buys in everything it sells, which is enormously beneficial for independent makers.  

A number of Scotland-based makers have shown with Òr since its beginnings. They include Hilary Grant who, with her partner Robbie Harvey, runs a textile design studio and micro knitwear factory based in Birsay, Orkney. Another is Jay Frazer, a ceramic artist making functional and decorative stoneware who works in Kinghorn, Fife.  
 

Image: Window display at Òr / Photgraphy by Hannah Morris

Òr sells handwoven scarves made by another Orkney-based maker, weaver India Johnson. She founded the Orkney Cloth Company to help revive the long tradition of weaving in Orkney, working with local designers and weavers to create responsibly produced, limited-batch woven products.  

For an unusual take on a traditional Scottish structure, Òr offers small stoneware incense or tealight burners shaped like bothies, the shelters set in Scotland’s wild landscapes. These are made by ceramicist Aimee Holt (Carrick), who is based in East Lothian.   
 

Image: Aimee Holt / Photgraphy by Hannah Morris

Jen sees the development of creative collaborations as the most rewarding aspect of her work, and it is here that Òr is at its most innovative. Positioning Skye as a catalyst for inspiration, she and her team work with makers and artists to create new pieces from that unique spark. “These collaborations provide an opportunity for independent creators to bring their work to the public eye, creating a varied and modern reflection of contemporary culture in Scotland.”  

 “buyers can take a little bit of Skye away with them.” 
- Jennifer Carter Pearson, founder and owner of  Òr

Jen seeks out makers who have the potential to be profoundly impacted by the inspiration of Skye. One is Edinburgh-based ceramicist Julija Pustovrh (Emporium Julium), whose initial training as a landscape architect may give her a particular sensitivity to Skye’s dramatic scenery and natural environment.  

Òr had stocked Julija’s work since the opening of its second shop in 2018. When Julija started to make pieces incorporating sand from Scotland’s beaches into mixed recycled clay, Òr suggested a special Skye range using sand from Talisker Bay. The most recent result of this collaboration is a stoneware quaich, which evolved over several years through discussion, sketches and prototypes. Each quaich is stamped with both the maker’s own mark and the Òr logo to denote the collaboration. As Jen says,  “buyers can take a little bit of Skye away with them.”  
 

Image: Julija Pustovrh / Photgraphy by Hannah Morris

I asked Jen about her thoughts for the future. Wanting to engage more with younger people locally, she is interested in extending her collaboration projects into the community. For the longer term, she has ambitions to offer more high-end jewellery, perhaps even in a dedicated retail space.  

The establishment of Òr grew originally from the idea of a showcase on Skye for her own Skye-inspired jewellery. Would she return to making jewellery herself? Today, with a demanding retail business to run and a young family to care for, making is on hold. But one day, perhaps those stunning views of the Cuillin from her office window will, once more, be translated into gold.