The History of Morrab Studio

Over 50 years of quality

Established in 1950 by John Laity at the age of 25, Morrab Studio has grown from a gallery selling original Newlyn School art and local pottery, into the business it is today selling original paintings and prints as before, but also having expanded into specialising in English fine bone china, cut crystal glass and high quality giftware and collectables.

The business has changed location and increased in size since 1950 for various reasons, one of which was the annual flooding of the original premises. Sea water caused a lot of damage, but the pottery stock just floated down with the water undamaged ready for sale again.

Picture framing has been an important part of the business through the years, allowing us to frame our own prints and pictures for sale in the shop and to offer a bespoke framing service for anyone who might require it. We have framed a wide variety of objects apart from the usual photos and prints, including rugby shirts, native American arrows, medals, stamps and other 3D items.

Morrab Sudio has been based at the top of Morrab Road in Penzance since 1960, expanding into the next door premises in 1970, and has had the branch at Back Quay, Truro, since 1992. Both shops do their best to offer a specialised service that is generally not available in normal stores, with a particular emphasis on special orders for people unable to obtain what they want "off the shelf".

John Laity's sons, David and Simon, joined the business in the late 1970's to help carry on the expansion and success of the family business. In the last few years it has been obvious that the Internet offers an opportunity to offer the specialised skills of the business to a much wider customer base.