Front Lounge

07/04/2026

Another important milestone for the ever growing Kindred Clothing. Two weeks ago Front Lounge launched a new first: Kindred Clothing delivered in partnership with a primary school!

Both Dundee Evening Telegraph and The Courier UK carried the story. The focus is Chelsie Bruce, one of the architects of Kindred Clothing, and her daughter Brooke, who is now walking the path blazed by her mum, along with 7 other pupils of Rosebank Primary School in Hilltown, Dundee. This is truly wonderful!

The picture in the articles was taken by Grant R. Keelan of PPG Photography.

27/03/2026

Last week Front Lounge came to the end of two incredible Kindred Clothing cohorts in Orkney of all places! There have been so many firsts: first time Kindred Clothing has been delivered in person outside of Dundee; first time Briony Avery and Kayleigh Archibald have delivered Kindred Clothing; and the first time Kindred Clothing was delivered as part of a school curriculum, explained in detail in The Orcadian newspaper clipping attached to this post.

Huge congratulations to Arthur Derrick, Carolyn Shepherd, Hannah Swinney and Simone Meek; and Alexander Hourston, Melissa Nicolson, Mark Shearer and Miller Harcus who often contended with challenging conditions and who all completed Kindred Clothing with aplomb. You are magnificent!

Massive thanks to Briony Avery and Kayleigh Archibald for the amazing job they did communicating the Kindred Clothing course. What an outstanding first effort! Thanks too to Julie Muir, Louise Harcus, Angie Stout, Helen Lumsden and Walter Gorman for all that you have done to make this happen. And a special thank you to Kirsteen Stewart, whose persistent work behind the scenes is the reason why Kindred Clothing in Orkney has happened in the first place.

Westray pictures in the article taken by Nigel Heath.

17/03/2026

This week is a big week: two Kindred Clothing cohorts come to a successful conclusion. What is particularly notable is that both groups are in Orkney: one delivered in partnership with The Learning Link (Adult Learning, Orkney Council), and the other with four S3 pupils of Westray Junior High School, who are the main feature in The Orkney News article below. Truly amazing!

Four teenagers from Westray Junior High School have made history by becoming the first pupils in Scotland to complete a pioneering clothes-making qualification as part of the school curriculum. Ale…

07/03/2026

Tomorrow RIVER OF DREAMS begins!

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day and I’m spending it by beginning my artist residency with Dundee charity Front Lounge, where I’m celebrating their 25 years of life-changing work with a project called ‘River of Dreams’, making portraits of and with a cross-section of the people they work with.

The official theme of IWD is ‘give to gain’ and it’s not about being transactional, but about using generosity as a multiplying force. I think I like the phrase ‘give to give’ even more, because it comes closer to the unconditional love and support Front Lounge dishes out in abundance to young people, children and women across Scotland and beyond. I know so many individual stories of them doing this over 25 this because I was one of the very first.

This river estuary where I am now, where I grew as a child artist, is a gateway to the North Sea and everything beyond. It’s why I am now known under ‘Light on the Sea’. This river of dreams leads to a great ocean and we’re going to explore that together, and think about what makes life BIG. ♥️

02/03/2026

River of Dreams with Gillian Eilidh O’Mara Artist
Silver Jubilee Artist in Residence: this is a snippet of her story...

02/03/2026

Some words from Gillian Eilidh O’Mara Artist...

02/03/2026

Introducing River of Dreams with Gillian Eilidh O’Mara. Gillian is an award winning illustrator, artist, and children’s author, and a shining luminary of Front Lounge's community. Over the coming months, and as part of Front Lounge's Silver Jubilee Artist in Residency programme, Gillian will conduct a series of workshops and events with a number of different audiences to explore hopes and dreams. The pictures that come out of this will feature in a book and an exhibition sometime later on in the year. This is very much a 'Life is big. Be all you can be!' kind of project - an exciting wee bitty for 2026! Woohoo!

31/12/2025

22/12/2025

Thanks to Dundee Evening Telegraph for featuring some of the amazing learning that has taken place as part of Front Lounge's inaugural National Certificate in Creative Industries course. Well done to Amy Deans, Becky Rawlins, Samantha Hutchison and Tracy Bayliss for being the very first cohort, and thank you to Megan Mckay of Little Peril; to Nicole Doig of Dots n Stripes; to Gillian Mciver of Andie Sewing School; to Georgia McLaren of Off The Hook Studio for your amazing contributions to the course. Big thank you to Kirsteen Stewart, Yolla.Studio and Edenbank (featured in the news article) for providing live projects to work on. Another year, another milestone! Pictures by Grant R. Keelan of PPG Photography.

17/12/2025

The weekend of 13 & 14 December 2025: iGNiTE x Adventures Of The Little People took over Front Lounge HQ with creativity, laughter, and learning. Joined by our newest wave of volunteers, the children stepped back in time to the 1800s with a visit to McManus Galleries. Inspired by what they discovered, they had just two hours to prepare a performance, and wow, did they deliver! From writing their own story, designing costumes, and creating artwork, to setting up the space for family and friends, the children poured their hearts into every detail. The final performance was witty, comical, and the perfect way to wrap up the year. We couldn’t be prouder of their imagination, teamwork, and joy. What a fantastic weekend, and a big thank you to everyone involved! Pictures by Grant R. Keelan of PPG Photography.

08/11/2025

The first complete week of the NC in Creative Industries course at SCQF Level 6 is over! Megan Mckay of Little Peril and Nicole Doig of Dots n Stripes introduced the learners to the industrial sewing machine, design for manufacture, tech packs, and enhanced sewing techniques. All in all, it has been a good week.

In the coming week learners will do yet more sewing rudiments with Nicole Doig, and commence a deep dive into pattern construction with Gillian McIver of Andie Sewing School.

Amy Deans, Front Lounge Development Worker, Learning Centre Assessor, and member of the inaugural NC in Creative industries cohort recently posted a blog about her remarkable journey from playworker to where she is now. Truly remarkable.

In 2016, I walked into Front Lounge for the first time. I was 18, a new mum to my son Mason, and looking for a bit of fun. I’d heard they ran a playgroup called Bringing Up Baby (BUBS) and did some cool projects with young people. What I didn’t expect was to find a space that would change the co...