RECORDING STUDIO AND ARTS SPACE WITH ACCOMMODATION
Northern light through stained glass; high ceilings, wooden floors, comfy sofas and a roaring stove on colder days: working at St Mary’s is always inspiring.
Embraced by the breathtaking natural environment and warm charm of the building, St Mary’s is a family run recording studio and creative arts space with accommodation in the Scottish West Highlands.
Conceived by composer Jamie Smith and his crafter wife Charlotte as a living art work, the building and environs provide an inviting, inspirational and affordable workspace and retreat for artists and musicians looking to escape their daily distractions and find the space to create.
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The Church casts its spell on everyone who comes here. The towering wooden ceilings, roaring log fires, stained glass windows and sprung redwood floors create a truly inspiring atmosphere full of natural light, oddities, curios and vintage instruments with plenty of room to make a magnificent creative mess.
Jamie
Jamie is a musician and recording engineer. He works in the intersection between experimentalism, improvisation and left-field rock and pop and has collaborated with hundreds of amazing artists and musicians, filmmakers, dancers and performers.
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He brings his passion and knowledge to every project, large or small.
Charlotte
Charlotte's a bit of an artist, although she'll tell you she's not! She's always been a ‘hands on’ person, renovating houses, furniture, re-purposing items and making her world an aesthetically pleasing and interesting place.
She loves to sew, knit, paint and upcycIe foraged items, and always feels the need to create something eye catching, unique and quirky, from vintage & locally found materials, all crafted with an honest, rustic & whimsical style. She also organises some pretty cool weddings here!
Ethical and sustainable with integrity and heart
We live, work, play and raise our family at St. Mary's. To us, it's not just work, it's a way of life.
We always try to source food from local suppliers, such as our friends at the Cuil Croft; we love the local wild Venison and the abundant wonderful seafood and fish on our doorstep.
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Our electricity is from sustainables and much of our heating from our wood burning stoves, fueled by windfall trees or wood we cut ourselves from our own woodland.
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Our water comes form the hill behind the house (filtered of course) and we do our utmost to live and work in harmony with our surroundings.
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Fairness and equality are at the heart of how we work, so naturally we do our best to make our guests feel welcome and at home at St. Mary's.
Testimonials
"There’s precious little I wouldn’t recommend about this spot!
Run by 3 of the most wonderfully hospitable people you could hope to meet; housed in a beautiful, unique and inspiring building, located in one of the most stunning rural idylls on Earth!
I have worked, played, eaten and drank at St Mary’s and will do so again.
A perfect retreat for creatives and lovers of culture and nature"
"Spent a few days recording at St Mary's recently and can't recommend it enough. Beautiful space, great sound and a lovely family"
Sam Hawker
"We hosted a wedding photography workshop at St Mary's Space last weekend. I couldn’t be more grateful to Charlotte and Jamie for their incredible food and generous hospitality. St Mary's is the most incredible space, you can tell that they have put their soul into creating it. I was lucky enough to stay in the room which is just beautiful and provided the perfect light for photographs.
I absolutely cannot wait to come back and would highly recommend"
Beccy Farr Belle Art Photography
Just wanted to say- Jamie is a genius! An absolute genius! I'm beyond thrilled to be working with him!
I can't stop listening to the new tracks!
Knomad Spock
FINDING US
St. Mary's, Fasnacloich, Appin, Argyll, PA38 4BJ
We are located in the Scottish West Highlands, 25 Mins drive north of Oban, 45 mins south of Fort William, both of which have good rail links to Glasgow and the south. A sleeper train operates from London to Fort William.
What3words; goat.loaf.bitter
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The nearest airports are Edinburgh (3 hrs drive), Glasgow (2.5 hours drive) and Inverness (3 hours drive), all of which offer car hire and regular national and international flights.
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Most gps systems bring you slightly too far up the road, but google maps works perfectly.
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We have off road parking for 7 cars and plenty of turning space for vans and small trucks.
WE ARE HERE
CONTACT US
We are always happy to discuss your project and find out how best we can work with you based on your requirements and budget.
email
owlhouse@gmail.com
Please note we are experiencing issues with our usual email address (jamie@stmarys.space) so please use the one above for the meantime.
Please include as much information as you can about your proposed project, some dates and anything that might help us understand what you want to do and how we might be able to help!
Or call us on 01631 730 449
