Sidmouth's Libra Court, off Fore Street, is a 'little oasis of charm and peace', with art and craft shops, a beauty salon and café, all clustered around a pretty courtyard,with mellow brick walls and colourful plants.

And, in an exciting new venture for start-up businesses, it's now also hosting a series of different traders in 'The Pop-Up', a corner retail unit that can be rented for just one or two weeks at a time, for a very affordable price. Here you'll find people selling crafts, gifts, jewellery, accessories – or something else, depending on when you visit.The take-up by small businesses has been so enthusiastic, there are only a few weeks still available this year.

There's also a studio space upstairs available for hire to people wanting to host art or craft workshops – again for a very reasonable rent.

All this has happened since the tenancy of Libra Court was taken over last autumn by Em Swallow, who runs the thriving paint-your-own-pottery business Something Lovely there. She explained that she wanted to help other small companies overcome the problems she experienced herself when starting out.

After running pottery painting parties at people's homes and sessions at Kennaway House, Em was keen to set up a studio in the town centre, but didn't want to commit to a long-term lease.

A rolling monthly lease at Libra Court enabled her to test the water, and after a 'phenomenol' response by customers to her first few weeks at the end of 2019, she decided to stay on.

Although the studio had to close during the Covid lockdowns, she kept the business going by offering kits for home delivery across a wide area of Exeter and East Devon – and, thanks to word getting around on social media, the enterprise has gone from strength to strength, attracting a flood of customers when it reopened on May 18 this year.

The other Libra Court businesses

Next door to Something Lovely is The Art Den, selling paintings and fine art prints by professional artist Lorraine Westwood, and the work of photographer Bruce Thomas.

For anyone wanting a beautiful image of Sidmouth – whether an original oil or watercolour, a print, photograph or just a card – there's plenty to choose from, in a wide range of prices. Different sizes of the same reproduction print are also available. A new line of Sidmouth images is currently on sale.

Lorraine takes commissions for original paintings, and is often commissioned to produce pet portraits, many of which are on display in the studio.

The beauty salon Lashes and Lacquer, also on the ground floor, is a tiny space – but don't under-estimate it. Owner Kylie Howitt has been named in the top 50 in two categories of the 2021 Hair and Beauty Awards – Best New Salon and Best Eyelash Extension Salon.

Upstairs, in The Loft Art Studio, you'll find artist Lynda Kettle. Lynda is a qualified theatre designer who went on to become a BBC art director and production designer, and her artistic style evolved from a fusion of her theatre and television design skills. Lynda is Chair of the Sidmouth Society of Artists.The studio is full of her work in watercolours, pastels, acrylics and oils – with Lynda's easel tucked into a corner. She explained that, after her time working in a busy TV production office, painting at home on her own didn't appeal – she likes to have people around her, and the friendly Libra Court community with customers coming and going is perfect.

The other upstairs studio is occupied by MololaLIL, aka Sam Thomas, who used to work as a photographer for music magazines, and now produces portrait and fine art photograpy. She takes individual and family/group portrait photos in outdoor locations such as the beach, using natural light, rather than in a studio setting. She also has a range of photographs from her 'back catalogue' in the music world for sale – some reportage-type shots and others in a more abstract style. Sam also sells some upcycled furniture items, vintage pottery, and hand-painted pots.

The traders you can expect to see in The Pop-Up over the next few weeks are:

Uniquely Suzy B – Hand-spun art yarns, eco printed accessories, woven cushions, seals and scarves

Frills Haberdashery - Haberdashery and hand-made crafts

Woolly Wonders - hand felted art, toys and gifts