The Boat House gift shop and gallery in Monmouth and its sister shop and gallery in Tintern are designed specifically to showcase the work of new artists .

The Boat House is an ideal place for upcoming and already established artists to display their works to the wider community with a special exhibition opening day taking place in Monmouth last month when the shop to welcomed a new selection of guest artists.

The work of around 30 new artists and makers will now be on show across both shops for approximately 12 weeks.

Jenny Chuter, owner of the shop, said: “We had a lovely day - we had lots of artists and makers come down to meet the customers. One of the artists is a violinist who performed during the day.”

“We had an artist at the main shop doing a demonstration and because it was such a lovely day they also sat outside and were painting as people went past.”

“Pasty Heaven donated some sausage rolls for us as well which made it even more special and enjoyable,” she said.

“I have two windows in the high street, and I use one for a mixture of everyone's work and the other one for a spotlight on a certain artist .”

With her previous experience working in retail Jenny was able to use her skills to develop her new business which began when she started trading at a market stall and craft fairs which inspired her to take the leap into opening her two shops

She explained that while attending craft fairs she met lots of artists whose work would go unseen in the weeks between the events and found that many of them were desperate for somewhere to display their work on a more permanent basis without having to be tied to a particular venue.

She added that opening her first shop had been a “steep learning curve, with the business constantly evolving.”

Jenny offers artists a 12 week window to display their works in her shops and now has a lengthy waiting list which of around 250 people, which she hopes to be able to work her way through, giving as many artists as possible an opportunity to display their work.

She says the most rewarding part of the job is seeing artists’ work, which they have spent so long on, purchased by paying customers as well as watching the artists confidence grow.

The owner says other local entrepreneurs looking to do something similar should chose the right location and make sure their shops to be well layered to reduce the chances of it looking empty on a busy day. She also stresses the importance of working out the figures behind starting a business to make sure any potentially hidden costs are accounted for.

Jenny has many aspirations for the business in the coming years including moving it online in addition to her high street shops, so people who aren't in the local area can still purchase from talented local artists.