Travels of Amy M art shop expands to Market Place, Hexham

Amy Moffatt, owner of Travels of Amy M, opened her first permanent shop in St Mary's Chare, Hexham earlier this year. 

She sells art prints inspired by her global travels, homewares and gifts for modern-day 'wanderlusters'.

Inside Travels of Amy M (Image: Travels of Amy M) Amy officially opened her new shop on October 19 and said the decision has already benefitted her business. 

"My tiny art shop has moved into 21 Market Place, to create a unique collaboration with Ten Green Bottles Vintage, where there are now three floors of travel-inspired art prints, homewares, gifts and vintage finds," she said.

Amy sells various travel-inspired items (Image: Travels of Amy M) "Opposite Small World Cafe, this new store has given my business much more street presence, and as much as I love the cobbled street and artistic vibe of St Mary's Chare, this has been a great move for me already, given the much greater visibility and higher footfall.

"David, of Ten Green Bottles Vintage, was looking to downsize, and I had already outgrown the shop on Back Street, and he kindly offered me to share the Market Place building with him, which is working out so well already.

The new shop is based at 21 Market Place (Image: Travels of Amy M)"By some weird twist of fate, after we'd agreed to the collaboration, I was told that someone with my exact same surname - Moffatt - used to own and operate a business from here selling travelling trunks and other travel paraphernalia!

"The support of Hexham locals and tourists alike has meant my business could grow and thrive here. When I moved back to Hexham from overseas two years ago, there was a general feeling that there were a lot of vacant shop fronts and the town felt a little neglected.

"But since then, and especially in the past 12 months, I have witnessed a boom in retail and even more so with small independent stores and cafes, making Hexham a pretty interesting, creative and unique place to visit these days. It's so refreshing to be part of the thriving small indie business community here," Amy said.