Oil & Oak

Tell us about Oil & Oak: Oil & Oak is a community gift shop and gallery, supporting over 40 local and independent makers. We also have a gallery and workshop space upstairs, hosting artists and makers wanting to share their skills with you, as well as being a safe space for Hay-on-Wye’s younger residents to enjoy art club. We are proudly unique, artisan and independent.

What kind of things do you sell? Everything we have in the shop is lovingly handmade by our talented independent Makers. I’ve worked really hard to curate a space that is filled with a wide variety of items that are both affordable and beautiful. My aim is to make sure there’s something for everyone, we have gifts available for as little as £1.50, artworks start at £10 and our handmade clothing range begins at £12.

Do you have any items that are the most popular? Definitely our selection of handmade knitwear, who doesn’t love a warm cozy jumper at this time of year? Especially when made locally from Welsh wool. Lesley Wickham is one of our top makers, all her garments are made from wool shorn from her own flock, bred specifically for their natural colour- ways. Marion Butler, another one of our makers who regularly helps out in the shop as well, has been knitting her famous necklace cowls for over 20 yrs now and they remain ever popular. We also have items handmade by Denise Rees, using Shetland Wool, in a wonderful array of colours. Her hot water bottle covers are a thing of beauty.

You also host workshops, are there any coming up? Yes, we’ve got a couple of festive inspired workshops in December, a pompom wreath workshop and a clay Christmas decoration workshop. In the New Year we’ll be welcoming in makers running collage workshops, jewellery making, abstract ink landscapes and many more.

You can find all our upcoming workshops on our website: www.oilandoak.co.uk. Whilst there, you can also sign up to our newsletter which will keep you up to date on all shop happenings.