Council seeing red over pink Perthshire shop
An award-winning Perth shop owner is seeing red over Perth and Kinross Council’s stance on her pink facade.
Bertie Browns in South Street is the second victim of council ‘colour wars’ in the city this summer.
A month ago a row erupted after Perth and Kinross Council started painting the Queen’s Bridge in its corporate colours of turquoise and dark blue.
Contractors were stopped in their brush strokes when the vociferous ‘paint it black’ brigade overturned the council’s ‘brighten up’ approach.
But now the council are telling Bertie Browns’ owner Jane Atkinson to adopt a more sombre hue after her bright pink shop frontage was refused retrospective planning consent.
The ruling has angered Jane, who has built up her business selling contemporary silver designer jewellery, cards and gifts to become a market leader.
In May Bertie Browns fought off fierce competition to scoop the title ‘The Best Independent Gift Retailer for Scotland’ – and earlier this month the shop won the ‘Best Greeting Card Retailer in Scotland’ award. Jane explained that her shop was not just painted the eye-catching pink on a whim: “Bertie Browns’ corporate colours have always been pink. All our packaging is that colour. This brand image is integral to the success of Bertie Browns.”
