A popular Porthmadog shop will close this month.

The owners of Glosters in Bank Place said they will shut the shop on 26 June, but their workshop and online store will continue.

They thanked their shop customers for “12 years of support” but said they want to spend more time with family.

“On June 26th our bricks and mortar shop will close at 2 Bank Place, Porthmadog for the final time,” their statement reads.

“Our workshop and online store will continue to operate as normal.

“When we bought the building in 2014 neither of us could have ever imagined what Glosters would grow into!

“We never thought the shop and workshop would separate, we didn’t think the workshop would need to move, yes we dreamt of bigger, but we never imagined it’d happen.

“When Covid struck, the business changed dramatically. “We went from the shop being 80 per cent of our income and then by 2021 we’d seen a complete flip where online becoming our main income and growing at a rate we couldn’t keep up with. So much so we needed to move workshop so we could expand production and keep up with demand.

“We are today the largest producer of handmade ceramics in Wales, based right here in the heart of Porthmadog. What started in a garden shed, moved to above our high street shop and now occupies a 4000sq ft workshop. We couldn’t have predicted that.

“But a lot has changed.

“Life changed, a lot.

“Suddenly there was a workforce to manage, larger overheads and growing pains, these things take a real amount of time each week to make sure the business remains viable. There was a point where priorities had to shift and we haven’t been able to spend as much time at the shop as we’d have liked or as much as it deserved.

“Over the last 6 years life has thrown a lot at us, we’ve lost those we loved the most, tried to stabilised the business during a cost of living crisis seeing cost increase after cost increase. Amongst all the challenges along came Ottie.

“It’s not been an easy decision. In fact over the last couple of weeks I’ve questioned it all.

“But here’s the thing.

“You can do anything.

“But you cannot do everything.

“And right now we cannot dedicate the time it needs to make the building the success it needs to be to continue.

“One day there may be a time when we come back to the high street. But right now we have to prioritise, we have to think with our heads and not our hearts, we’d like to enjoy time outside of work as a family.”

“We’ll continue to hold our events throughout the year at the workshop on the industrial estate and Click & collect will continue to be available through our website.

“For now it is farewell to Bank Place, you’ll always be full of incredible memories, the building that grew this business beyond our wildest dreams.

“Thank you to each of you who’ve visited over the last 12 years.”