Article is an independent, creative shop supporting many British makers and designers, based in the beautiful market town of Castle Cary, Somerset, next to Bruton, and just North of the A303 Sparkford roundabout.

We are Lucy and David, a husband-and-wife-led team who together run the shop Article and also David Simon Contemporary (link opens in a new tab), an art gallery with monthly changing exhibitions, all housed in the same beautiful, historic bank building. Since 2013 we have created an interesting Somerset space full of artistic objects for the home and lifestyle, as well as artworks by some of the most important contemporary artists and makers active in Britain throughout the 20th & 21st centuries.

The idea to combine our exisiting businesses (est. since 2007) of art gallery and lifestyle shop was clear since we became married, and that's what we did, establishing the shop and gallery alongside one another in 2013, close to the Assembly Rooms in the city of Bath.

A few years later, having already moved house to an ancient village South of Bath nearer Frome, we fell in love with the local picture-postcard market town of Castle Cary, and in 2018 we found this wonderful old main bank building sitting empty on the high street here, and relocated the shop and gallery here in 2019, just as the renowned ‘Newt in Somerset’ was also opening its gardens, estate and hotel doors, just up the road. In fact, we supplied all the guest bouquets for The Newt in Somerset for a few years until I had a baby and decided to stop supplying fresh floristry.

We have found ourselves caught up in something of a movement - so many creative people and businesses are moving to this part of Somerset, out of cities, and we count ourselves lucky to be a part of a great energy and dynamism in this area which includes Bruton, Somerton and Frome within a few miles of where we are.

Just as we were starting to feel settled, Coronavirus hit us all at the start of 2020. What a year it was - behind closed doors, we joined friends and helped to make PPE for the NHS over many weeks, personally delivering tens of thousands of visors to hospitals. At the shop, we sewed hundreds of our own Liberty fabric face masks, and formulated a hand sanitiser that actually moisturises your hands. Our web orders had never been so plentiful and busy and the demand was especially huge for posting our dried flowers and gifts. We've been humbled by the ongoing support of our customers, and wish to thank every one of them for their phonecalls, orders, chats and support during this time. It was marvellous to see pockets of community spirit shining through such a strange and difficult time for the world.

Summer 2021 brought the birrth of our daughter Henrietta, and so things are now even busier! Inspired by her, I decided to bring my own carefully chosen selection of high quality children’s gift & toy brands to the shop in 2022, and this department continues to expand.

Lucy Simon