THE owner of Made in Bradford has now set up an art gallery to showcase work from local artists.

Wellie O’Driscoll, who runs Made in Bradford in Kingston Road, decided to set up an art gallery following the success of the locally-made souvenirs which she sells in her shop. The gallery, of which Mrs O'Driscoll is the artistic director, now exhibits paintings and works from people living in the town.

“We have work from over 80 people living in Bradford on Avon, all of which is inspired by the sights around the town. We have a large variety of items, from paintings to ceramics and a wide selection of gifts for tourists to buy. Usually when you visit a National Trust shop you find a lot of the items are made out of the area, but with this everything is made by local people,” said Mrs O’Driscoll.

“I have not seen anything like this before when I have visited towns in the country, usually you find items are made overseas in China or other places.”

The souvenirs, which have been introduced gradually over the last four months, have become more and more popular with visitors of the town.

“It is quite unique really, we have had a lot of interest from people and it has become very popular. Because it is all made locally you know that the money made from everything is going to support the local economy which is very important. The products are high-quality goods and it gives people more insight into the work put in by local artists,” Mrs O’Driscoll added.