Alchemist magic in Dingwall under spotlight at Resolis SWI
THE labour-of-love transformation of a former chemist shop in Dingwall to an art gallery was the subject of a talk to Resolis SWI.
Hazel Gordon, who owns and runs the Alchemist Gallery, gave a fascinating talk about her and her husband’s journey from the purchase of the premises, the extensive renovations to the beautiful shop we know today.
Hazel maintains that she is an “accidental shopkeeper,” having trained and worked in the food industry, including food safety and product development for 20 years, she never imagined owning a shop.
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She showed pictures of premises she bought and renovated in Invergordon and then Golspie. The Golspie shop was open from 2016-2019 and encompassed shop exhibitions, a jeweller, weaver, photographer and a workshop space.
In 2019 Hazel bought the former premises of Dewer and Hay, Dingwall, established in approximately 1860. Mr Dewer was the Chemist and Mr Hay was the Dentist located upstairs.
Hazel found an old photograph of the premises and used this to recreate a shop front truer to what it had originally been.
There were some interesting finds during the extensive renovation – old chemist bottles with interesting labels professing to be “the oldest established and most up-to-date pharmacy in the north of Scotland…with the best service ….”
It was only after removing 15 layers of linoleum, tiles and finally rotten floorboards that they could start the onerous rebuild of the premises, including removing the frontage of the shop and dealing with the subsidence on the first floor; a much greater task than they had envisaged. They opened in November 2019.
A spokeswoman for Resolis SWI said: “Please take a look into the Alchemist. It is a delightful experience. You will encounter a very relaxed atmosphere allowing you to browse at your leisure and see all the beautiful crafts, cards, gift shop, art supplies and the original French-polished wood on the wall stairway leads to the gallery supporting local artists.”
