A well-known Aberdeen picture framer has hung the for sale sale over his gallery and workshop after more than 30 years in business.
Belvidere Gallery owner Alan Watt said he had made the “really hard” decision as he looks towards retirement.
The 70-year-old opened the gallery on Rosemount Place in 1992 after spending two years working out of his home garage.
Since then the picture framing business has built up a loyal customer base with clients including University of Aberdeen and the Marcliffe and Chester hotels.
But Mr Watt, married to Kathleen, now says retirement is in the picture.
He said: “When you hit 70 the clock seems to tick a bit faster.
“Rosemount is one of the best communities in Aberdeen in our opinion.”
“We love the area it’s fantastic and the people are lovely so it’s a really hard decision to make.
“Rosemount is one of the best communities in Aberdeen, in our opinion.
“I told a customer just the other day I was looking to retire and the word I would use for her reaction was absolute dismay.
“She said I only looked 60,” he laughed.
Craftsmanship
Dad-of-one Mr Watt first started developing his craftsmanship skills while at school.
He said: “It stemmed from a love of technical subjects including woodwork. I just enjoyed making things.
“I think most picture framing businesses evolve from a hobby in a garden shed or garage and that’s certainly where this one evolved one.
“You have friends who will become customers and then friends of friends.
“When it’s people that you don’t actually know, that’s when you have to make a decision do you want to continue with the hobby or go into business.
“I saw the potential to move because I had invested heavily in good quality equipment and had everything in place.”
‘Word on the street is that it would never work’
Mr Watt, who has one full-time employee, Phoebe Banks, did his homework before choosing Rosemount as the location.
He said: “I looked very carefully at the competition and didn’t want to tread on anyone’s feet.
“I chose a location far enough away from any other picture framers in Aberdeen and I’m glad I did.
“The funny thing is the word on the street is that it would never work.
“But 30 years later, we’ve updated to the best quality equipment with computerised mount cutting where you can design some quite fantastic presentations.
“The company slogan is traditional craftsman with cutting-edge technology and I think that describes the business.
“Everything has moved on and improved.”
Deep roots
As with all businesses, the company faced challenges during the pandemic while the UK’s departure from the European Union threw up more.
But Belvidere Gallery has proved resilient.
Mr Watt said: “Covid was a tough time and we felt the effects of Brexit because most of our mouldings are manufactured in Italy so there were some stock shortages.
“But it all now seems to have smoothed over, by and large.
“We seem to be quite buoyant at the moment but we have good history here with deep roots and strong customers, a very loyal customer base that’s all been nurtured over the last 30 years.”
Looking for the right person to take over
Mr Watt’s has insisted he won’t keep his loyal customers hanging as he plans to keep the gallery open until a buyer is found.
He said: “We’ve been actively marketing it for two or three months and using word of mouth and talking to similar businesses.
“The most important thing is to find the right person to take over the business.”
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