About US
Riverside Studio began with a trip to the South of France and a few too many glasses of wine in the village bar. That’s when I came across a run-down barn for sale. The roof leaked and the walls were crumbling, but fast forward eight years, lots of building work, late nights, and plenty more wine, and that barn has been transformed into Riverside Studio.
It’s been a long winding road, made lighter by the help of friends and visiting artists who helped turn the ruined building into a fabulous creative space.
The local villagers have also been wonderful, lending their time and encouragement, and patiently putting up with my schoolboy french.
Today, Riverside Studio is a space shaped by all those contributions; a place for creativity, learning, and new friendships. I hope you will visit soon and enjoy this magical place and very special village.
Come along, drink some wine, splash some paint, and be part of the story.
The Journey
As I’m sure you can appreciate, turning a ruined old barn into an art studio is not for the faint-hearted! Luckily, I came across a brilliant website called Workaway, which connects artists and travellers from around the world with hosts who need help on projects. A few hours of work each day in exchange for board and lodging, simple, but brilliant.
So, along with old friends and local builders, much of the refurbishment was carried out by artists and DIYers from all around the world Australia, France, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, the USA, the UK, Italy, Norway, Ireland, and many more.
One minute my international crew were slapping on paint, banging in nails, and sanding doors; the next, we were sitting around the table with wine and hearty meals, swapping stories late into the night.
It’s taken eight years to finish, with ups and downs, laughter and tears. But the journey has been more than worthwhile, and If the walls could talk, they’d tell tales of hard work, a million cups of tea, splinters, and the occasional swear word. But every moment was worth it to breathe life back into a run-down ruin that had stood empty for thirty years.
And now, it’s your turn to add to the Barns/Studios story, so please come have fun, drink a little wine and make new friends in our lovely village.
Discoveries
As you can imagine, the dilapidated barn was crammed with every kind of treasure (and a fair bit of junk). I found old pantaloons from the 1950s, broken chairs, and believe it or not ten old wardrobes. Yes, ten! There were bird cages, toys, bottles, broken washing machines, bits of motorcycles, calendars, china… you name it, it was piled up on the floor. After ten trips to the tip, we still hadn’t cleared it all.
But hidden amongst the chaos were some real gems: delicate old wine glasses, a 1920s typewriter, and vintage posters from the Second World War. Best of all was a huge manual wine pump from the early 1900s, a reminder that the barn had once been a working winery, right up until its last bottled vintage in 1982, which is recorded on the back of the barn doors.
What the Artists and Workawayer's say
