Last Saturday saw hundreds of you coming along to our ART FOR HEROES event in Sherborne.  A huge thank you to everyone who made it such a success with at least £1000 being raised for the Help for Heroes charity.  Special hugs are well deserved for Emma of Honeybuns and Joanne of Positive PR who organised our Honeybuns Cafe so brilliantly (along with Seamus who got up before 12 noon especially!), Mike Burks from Castle Gardens who put on such a magnificent display of Arty Planting in the entrance-way and all the other friends, family and artists who came along to support us - giving their time, money and smiley faces for charity (even if some of them did most of their fund-raising from The Digby Tap!).

It's been an interesting six months here in Trendle Street since opening Images In Art.  We're still working hard to let people know we're here and the much-hyped Credit Crunch (sounds like a chocolate bar) arrived to take the edge off things a little.  Everyone who discovers us seems to like what they see - one lovely lady today said she'd felt 'totally uplifted' after visiting, so what more could we ask?  Dorset Art Weeks has brought lots of new people into town which has been good fun and we're looking forward to Claire from Chapterhouse Books opening her brand new little coffee shop next door in a few weeks' time.

My answer to the credit crunch?  Well, don't spend more on food - just dust down the pots and pans and get a little more creative with the things you cook, a lot cheaper than food that goes 'ping' when it's ready to eat; leave the car on the drive a bit more often (I've rediscovered my legs do actually work when required); and definitely treat yourself to a teeny weeny bit of art to cheer yourself up (if only a nice card to send a special friend). Certainly don't start drinking cheap wine (Hannah and Shelley from Vineyards told me to say that!).  And remember, smiles and hugs have always been free, so things can't be that bad ....

Well, week one is now under our belt and life seems much calmer without the ever present builders that worked with us over the past eight weeks to get everything up and running.  Couldn't live without them but .... how lovely when they're gone!   The shop has opened quietly to give us a chance to catch our breath but we hope to launch with a bit more of a fanfare soon in time for Christmas.

So far, reaction has been really great from all those who dropped in to see what we're up to.  Quote of the week describes us as a "Gorgeous, yummy new gallery".  Customers have promised to tell all their friends about us and we seem to have struck a chord as offering something totally different to all the other shops in Sherborne (and, let's face it, Sherborne has some GREAT shops!).

We've been on the trail already for some new artists to feature and hope to soon bring you great new things from Jackie Spurrier's 'Cows on Canvas' (if you like cows you'll LOVE these!) and Rebecca Stidson's charming work that really captures Dorset life and scenes. 

Do drop by soon!