Orsay Shop & Gallery

Orsay sits at the corner of Stevenson Street, a short walk off George Street toward the cathedral end of central Oban. The shop is part gallery and part gift shop, with the boundary kept comfortably blurry. Original work, prints, paintings, ceramics, glass, from artists working in Argyll and across the rest of Scotland fills the gallery half; homewares, cards, jewellery, textiles and food-and-drink gifts fill the retail half, with a clear lean toward small-batch and independent Scottish makers rather than mass-import giftware.

The shop takes its name from Orsay, the small tidal island at the south-western tip of Islay where the original eighteenth-century Rinns of Islay lighthouse stands. The connection is decorative rather than literal, the shop is not on the island, and the lighthouse is not the founder’s family, but the island name has its uses as a grace note for a business pitched at the visitor wanting something made in Scotland to take home.

Stevenson Street itself is a quiet side street with parking nearby on the seafront; the shop is two minutes’ walk from the railway station and the ferry terminal, which makes it a practical last stop before a sailing.

Current stock, makers represented, and any in-store events at the Orsay website.