THE owners of a popular gift shop in Helensburgh are saying a fond farewell to the community after a decade in business.
Kevin and Margaret Meadwell have decided to hand over the keys to Shooftie on West Clyde Street after 10 years.
They said they'd decided it was time to retire and "spend some more time with family and doing the things [they] love".
It has since been announced that Niki Sammon, who runs Helensburgh-based greetings card business Hiya Pal, will be taking over the running of Shooftie in January.
Kevin and Margaret have thanked their dedicated customers, friends and stockists for their support, talent and relationships.
And the couple haven't completely retired from Shooftie as they expect to be making products for the gift shop.
In a statement on their Facebook page, they said: "We have absolutely loved running Shooftie for the last 10 years, but have decided it’s time to retire to spend some more time with family and doing the things we love.
"The shop has been a wonderful place to work over the years; championing lots of local makers, working with our close friends and making lots of new friends with our customers and talented stockists!
"We are delighted to announce that we’re leaving Shooftie in safe hands and that it will continue on, as Niki from Hiya Pal will be taking over the running of things from January.
"And although we may not be in the shop day to day, we’ll still be making lots of lovely products for Shooftie.
"We just want to say a huge thank you to all our makers and customers for supporting us."
New owner Niki shared a message on the announcement and to the customers of Shooftie.
She said: "At the start of 2023 I sat with a pal to blether about our work goals for the year.
"I’d had this feeling of wanting to change things up for a while but hadn’t worked out quite what was next.
"I had settled on the idea of one day having my own shop though. I’ve always loved shouting about other people’s small businesses, about Scottish makers who I’ve become pals with through running Hiya Pal.
"So January 2023 I decided my long-term, five-year goal was to have my own shop.
"Well, a little sooner than I anticipated, I’m super excited to announce that as of January I’ll be taking over the running of Shooftie in Helensburgh.
"This creative wee shop has been run by some wonderful people over the last 10 years and I hope to continue this and do them all proud.
"I haven’t got it all worked out yet, it’s going to be a balancing act between making cards, running a shop and looking after my lads.
"But I am so excited for this new adventure. I’m determined to make it work and I know I have a whole community of beautiful family and friends that will be fully behind me."
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