THE recent renovation of a small jewellery store caught the eye of some of the country’s leading industry experts.

Kirsty Taylor Jewellery, based on Middle Street, in Corbridge, was shortlisted in the store design category at this year’s UK Jewellery Awards, held in London.

The store was fully revamped in October and the new design has been a hit with locals and visitors alike.

Kirsty said: “We renovated the shop before Christmas to make it a bit different and more quirky than a usual jewellery store. The team here did the design of the shop ourselves and pulled all the elements together with the help of local people.

“We have had so many compliments about the new look with many saying how much smarter it looks than other jewellery shops.

“We didn’t expect to win because we’re a tiny shop and the winner had a £500,000 makeover so we couldn’t really compete.

“It was a shame we didn’t win, but we had a great time when we went down. It was really nice to represent the North-East as, apart from a small selection of stores in Scotland, there was hardly any representatives from the North.”

The recognition for the jewellery store comes at a time as Kirsty is preparing to mark her 15th year in business.

Later this month, she will reach the landmark anniversary and is planning to decorate her shop to celebrate the occasion.

She said: “At the end of this month, I will have been in business for 15 years and being shortlisted in the national awards is just the icing on the cake.

“I started working for myself and had two shops before moving to Corbridge around 12 or 13 years ago, and we quite like it here.

“We have a big window display by a local artist organised to celebrate our 15th year, and we are going to do 15 pieces from each year we have been in business.”

Kirsty Taylor Jewellery items are also available from internet retailer, Not on the High Street.