Back in 2008 award-winning jewellery designer Brenda Temple decided to open a small shop in the Renfrewshire conservation village of Kilbarchan, where her workshop and studio had been based for many years.

When the village's Old Post Office became available, she set out to fill it with must-have gifts and collectables, showcasing items which, apart from her own creations, had either been made by other artists and craftspeople she admires - or simply discovered and fallen in love with.

Soon, discerning shoppers were arriving from far and wide as more and more people got talking about the place.

The former Glasgow School of Art graduate had always had an eye for the unusual and, in planning the new venture, had bought some interesting old pieces of furniture to restore and renovate in her own distinctive style, to use for display purposes. Soon it became apparent that she could have sold each piece over many times as those items were being admired just as much as the stock they contained and displayed.

With little space to develop and expand, Brenda set about constructing the Minerve website in conjunction with Andrea Meneghini of Dialogue Design. Here you will now find everything which made the shop so appealing.and much, much more - including some of those pieces of furniture which have benefited from her attention to stunning detail.

Within a year of opening that first little shop, Minerve had outgrown the tight confines and floorspace restrictions. While originally meeting a 'small is Beautiful' criteria, it had always thrown up other challenges.

"Not being the biggest space," Brenda explained, "that meant we had to be extra-choosy when deciding how to get the feel just right.

"When we set out to plan the venture, I had several things at the top of my wish list - mostly items I had grown to love over the years as a satisfied customer.

"That is without any doubt the best position from which to be advising and encouraging others.

Several customers had commented on the "feel" of the little shop being like something they might have discovered in an old Parisian courtyard. And, coincidentally, the name itself had been inspired by one of the owner's favourite places in France - the spectacular and evocative cliff-top town in the Laungedoc which was once a Cathar stronghold.

All of the items carried - from greeting cards, CDs, mohair socks, exquisite perfumes and luxury chocolate to paintings, prints, appliqué work and cashmere - had been hand-selected, as she set out to put together an attractive selection that she could, with hand on heart, describe as "different" to what could be found elsewhere.

That is certainly true, as far as her own jewellery collection is concerned, as previously much of her work had mainly been available either from her www.kiltpins.com website, or via occasional one-off gallery shows and exhibitions.

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