Craft and Soul

Stories help us make sense of our lives, our homes, our histories. They’re at the heart of everything, even objects – as Hugo Macdonald and James Stevens are demonstrating at Bard. 

Shop, gallery, studio — Bard is all of these and more. Opening its doors in 2022 and named after the traditional Celtic storyteller, Bard is an experience. Inside, an eclectic mix of crafts are brought together in a unique setting that honours both Scotland's culture and the couple’s deep- rooted passion for design.

Their lives together began with a blind date, but Bard’s foundations go back further. Hugo spent his childhood on the Isle of Skye, growing up in Kinloch Lodge hotel, now run by his sister. A career as a design journalist and brand director followed, working with the likes of Ilse Crawford, Instagram, and Ikea. James studied architecture and after a decade at design studio Retrouvius, became an independent consultant, crafting spaces for brands like Bella Freud and people like Helena Bonham Carter. A mutual friend in London introduced the pair.

Hugo’s Scottish connections, their chance meetings with makers, and a shared love of craft meant the couple talked about the idea of Bard for years. Life under lockdown sparked their resolve. “As with so many people, the pandemic gave us the push to stop waiting for the elusive perfect opportunity,” Hugo says. And after so long spent on screens, they craved the tangible. “The idea of creating something physical and analogue, somewhere material-based for human engagement, that encouraged people to feel something beyond the swipe of a touchscreen or the tap of a keyboard, felt very timely,” Hugo adds.

In a “moment of huge serendipity” during the spring of 2022, James and Hugo spotted online that a building they loved in Leith – Edinburgh’s northerly port neighbourhood – was becoming vacant. Two floors of Scotland’s oldest customs building, set within the Custom Lane community of designers and creatives. “There’s a poetic synergy that we’re continuing this tradition from the very buildings that shipped and received goods in and out of Scotland,” James says. They jumped at the keys and “within days were in the car setting off on a trip to meet as many Scottish makers as we could.”

So began a sweeping ten-week journey around Scotland to meet the craftspeople they hoped to feature at Bard. “We felt keenly that in order to build something of genuine authenticity we had to go on our own voyage of discovery,” says Hugo. Through the Lowlands, Highlands, and Islands, they took the time to learn about the lives and practices of the makers they met. “Nothing beats drinking three cups of tea out of a potter’s own mug in their studio in rural Galloway to get a feel for their work,” notes Hugo. Sixty studios, workshops, and factories later, they left with a list of suppliers and memories for a lifetime. “It was a cultural census of sorts,” James reflects. “A logistical feat and a fascinating immersion into contemporary Scottish cultural identity.”

Bringing such a diverse collection of objects – tableware, furniture, textiles – together in one space required careful consideration. “The building was quite raw when we took on the keys,” says architect James of the Custom Lane premises. “We plastered the entire interior using earth pigments to bring out a natural tactility.” Downstairs is rich baronial brown, bookcases, and clashes of colour; while upstairs is light and lofty with woven and “vernacular black house” furniture. 

“The fantasy is that it’s the home of a young couple who split their time between their refined Edinburgh house and a back-to-nature bothy on Orkney. Or a young creative who’s inherited an old-fashioned home from his grandparents and is bringing their own punk aesthetic,” James describes. Their ambition with the space, he says, was to be playful yet inviting. “We want people to feel like they’re stepping into a richly curated world that’s welcoming, warm, and intriguing like a home.”

And like at a friend’s place, for James conversation is key. “We want to help people understand the value of craft. Give people permission to sit, touch, smell, and engage with everything. There should be no rules when it comes to living with the things you love.” Perhaps, as well as being a shop and gallery, Bard also embodies the atmosphere of a library, where knowledge is shared and objects are cherished.

Is there a special something James and Hugo are searching for when they select items for the Bard collection? “It’s less about choosing and more about understanding what stories are compelling,” Hugo explains. “We enjoy bringing stories into Bard in objects and furniture that we feel will resonate with people who will choose to live with and treasure them.”

Dappled in window light and mirroring the ochre walls upstairs, Eve Eunson’s Cubi chair is a perfect example. “When we visited Eve’s Lerwick studio, we were charmed by her wry humour and moved by her stoic commitment to explore ways of bringing renewed relevance and purpose to a craft in decline,” James remembers. 

Through meticulous research and self-taught weaving techniques, Eve’s evolved the traditional Fair Isle Strawback chair for life today. It’s a way of keeping local craft and culture alive, mirroring Bard’s own mission. As James says, “helping to provide a platform for people to learn about and invest in craft as an important repository of cultural identity – with the potential for ongoing social and economic impact.”

Despite challenges near and far, Scotland’s design scene seems to be experiencing a rebirth as makers like Eve both speak to, and reimagine, tradition. The stories Bard tells are buoying that. “The narrative that creative industries are in decline and difficult to make a living within is true. But it is only part of the story,” clarifies Hugo. Rooting themselves in Leith, in a physical space that champions craft and community, James considers their contribution “a simple but vital lifeline for spreading the word that Scotland has a thriving and dynamic cultural sector.”

Leith, and broader Edinburgh, with its tides of festivals and visitors — “flexing from local to global with extraordinary elasticity”, Hugo says — feels to the couple like exactly the right place to be anchored. This year, they’ll move into a new home along the coast in the harbour town of Newhaven, an eighteenth-century building they’re renovating. Always intrigued by a design challenge, James says they’ve set themselves “the parameters that we would, wherever possible, only include Scottish materials, design and craft.” The husbands have commissioned some of their favourite featured makers, meaning the house “feels like a living Bard laboratory.” A site of learning, experiment, and wonderful discoveries. 

For people who think deeply about and are, in their own words, “endlessly fascinated” by the objects we surround ourselves with, how do they feel about our modern consumer culture? “Craft is an antidote to its many ills,” James says. “It’s a mindset that embodies resourcefulness, resilience, repair and respect. If you love something then you look after it. That sense of connection and care can be a powerful behavioural nudge towards making more conscious decisions.” 

By embracing Bard’s ethos, these decisions could even extend to how we live, travel, and empathise with others. “Craft can be unique and fascinating, or familiar in its universality,” James reflects. “And comforting in its revelation that there’s more that unites than separates us.”

JAMES & HUGO’S LOCAL HAUNTS 

Coffee 

Williams & Johnston at Custom Lane 

Bakery 

Boxwood Tam on Queen Charlotte Street 

Brunch 

La Cime Deli in Trinity 

Lunch 

The Shore Bar on The Shore 

Pub 

The Malt & Hops on The Shore 

Dinner 

Pizza from Razzo on Great Junction Street