Exquisite art and objects of desire for the home and garden
Helen and Paul at the Gallery @ 500 feet are a hard couple to pin down between their travels up and down the South West looking for inspirational art and objects. But, we finally managed to spend some quality time with them to find out what inspired them to open their incredible galleries in Lynton.
What inspired you to start running Gallery @ 500 feet?
We moved to Lynton in 2016 and the gallery came on the market not long after. We realised that we could combine our love of art and the desire to work in Lynton. We both have similar tastes and knew exactly what type of gallery we wanted. We seek out independent artists whose work we would love to own ourselves and showcase our pieces in a very interior led style. It’s a dream come true to be surrounded by beautiful art every day.
What do you enjoy most about working at Gallery @ 500 feet?
We adore the whole package. We love finding artists who are not represented by publishers – the thrill of spotting a piece that makes our hearts beat faster! Once we secure an amazing new artist, we then really enjoy the whole gallery and artist relationship. We have made some wonderful artist friends and feel so pleased when they then become successful with us.
It’s incredibly satisfying to know that we support ourselves and so many others from our gallery. We have customers from all over the world and they are an absolute joy, again, we have some wonderful relationships and we always go out of our way to delight them by seeking out new pieces and artists that they won’t have seen before.
Finally, we understand and appreciate the seasonality of Lynton which allows us to indulge our love of travelling in the winter months.
What are your favourite things to do in Lynton and Lynmouth?
The very first day we came here and parked in Bottom Meadow car park, we knew immediately that this was the place for us. Lynton has just such a wonderful feeling. We love to sit behind St Mary’s church in our lunch break and just stare and stare at the view! We often use the Cliff Railway to pop down to Lynmouth for a stroll by the river and if we’re lucky, a fish and chip supper sat on the seafront. We also love going up onto the moor just to take in the beauty of it all.
On a rainy evening, you may find us at the amazing Lynton Cinema or relaxing with some tapas and a nice glass of red….
