Simon, Caroline and their dog
Simon & Caroline Drew
Simon and Caroline Drew came to Dartmouth in 1981 to start their first business, which they both hoped would allow Simon to realise his dream of being a full-time artist in a beautiful and friendly town.
In those early days at the beginning of the 1980s, it was touch-and-go whether their fledgling venture would survive, but a combination of good luck and great timing – coupled with Simon’s incredibly popular images and Caroline’s business acumen - have led to thirty years of success.
Simon said that he nearly didn’t become an artist at all, and were it not for the encouragement and support of his wife, he would still be a biology teacher.
‘Well, if it wasn’t for Caroline, I’m not sure what I would have done,’ he said. ‘She asked me whether I really wanted to be an artist – and when I said I did – she said we should do it as soon as possible. We started looking for a shop. It was actually quite fun as we camped all over the South and eventually settled on Dartmouth. I’m not sure why – it just felt right.’
Simon said that the 30 years have gone past very quickly. When he and Caroline started the Gallery, they were just 28 years old.
‘I really can’t believe how young and green we were,’ he said. Lots of things were different in Dartmouth in 1981 – Foss Street wasn’t pedestrianised for one thing, there were virtually no flowers on display, and lots of closed shops. Simon and Caroline, who lived above the Simon Drew Gallery in the early years, were made to feel very welcome – but the people of the town were not convinced an ‘Art Gallery’ had a future there.
‘Everyone was very nice, but at least two shopkeepers gave us six months,’ said Simon. ‘They said that an art gallery in Dartmouth wouldn’t work. We are now the longest-serving shop in Foss Street. On our first day we sold one postcard – which pleased me no end.
‘The problem we had was that we were shy- nowadays people have huge fanfares when they open shops, we tried to be quiet turning the sign from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’! But because I was working in the shop – drawing full time had always been my dream – people loved to pop in and chat. That’s where a lot of my early work came from.’
In the first year, Simon was commissioned to create 12 pictures for a private client, which ‘got us through the first winter’. In the second winter a man came into the shop and asked Simon to create a special commission.
‘He said he wanted me to create a mural at his factory, using his ‘product’ to do so. I asked what the product was and was told it was shelves, but I had complete carte blanche to do what I wanted. I wasn’t particularly excited until he sent me tickets to Sweden to do it! That got us through the second winter…’
As he worked away on his commissions and other ideas in the shop, Simon began to weave his love of word play and rhyme into his work – and found that they were popular.
‘I did ‘Puffin Nuffin’ and ‘Joined Up Whiting’ and they seemed popular – but I was worried about not doing ‘proper’ art,’ he said. ‘People sometimes refer to them as cartoons, but each one takes three days of work – it’s important to me that they aren’t just gags, but have something interesting artistically for me to challenge myself with.’
Publisher Diana Steele popped into the shop in 1984, and then popped in four more times in as many days. Eventually she asked Simon ‘have you ever thought of publishing your art in a book?’
‘I replied ‘I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know how’,’ said Simon, ‘and she plonked a beautiful glossy book down and said ‘I could do it to this standard’. I’ve now published 27 books and she has done all of them. She also now owns a house in Dartmouth, which she didn’t then.’
The wide circulation of the books meant Simon’s renown began to grow. Their two shops have received visits from some very notable people – from Jonathan Porritt to the award winning and ‘delightful’ Judy Dench – who suggested an idea for a piece of Simon’s art which can be spotted if you are canny. Other famous people who have bought and delighted in Simon’s work include Warren Clarke and Vic Reeves – though Ruby Wax came in and didn’t buy anything!
‘I’m pleased to say we sell to all sorts of people,’ said Simon. ‘I’m lucky because my mind just picks up lots of rubbish which I then use. I come up with more ideas now than I have ever done, partly because it is just fun, and partly because I’m quite well known so I feel a bit of pressure to do more.’
Work keeps coming in – he recently completed some designs for the Aga Company and his imagination seemingly knows no bounds. Unsurprisingly, Simon said that he is very positive about Dartmouth and its future.
‘It keeps getting better and better,’ he said. ‘We are so lucky here with the beautiful surroundings and brilliant restaurants. All the doom merchants who seem to think we are all going to hell in a handcart just don’t like change. But if you look around you, year after year change has made the town better – the Flavel, the pedestrianisation of Foss Street and the Embankment for example.’
Simon said he put his success to Caroline:
‘Without her we wouldn’t be here – I’d still be a teacher. From our first months as friends when she convinced me to play Winnie the Pooh in a musical, Caroline has been a positive and dynamic person in my life. She sees things and has ideas which I wouldn’t have in a million years. I’m rather slow in many ways – she is the secret of our success.’
First published May 2011 By the Dart