Many of our high streets may be facing terminal decline, but one group of artists and traders is bringing empty shops back to live – and they're creating a vibrant new community along the way. Rohese Devereux-Taylor finds out more

Rhian Nicholas stands in front of her 100-year-old Autovic printing press, feeding card through the mechanised rollers to be imprinted with rich ink and transformed into one of the elegant greetings cards she sells from her new shop.

The former set designer has been making cards based on vintage plates she finds in museum collections and old archives for the past eight years, reviving lost images and giving them new purpose.

Her current favourite from her Keyhole Collection, many of which were produced in conjunction with British and Scottish libraries and museums to be stocked in their on-site shops, is an orange print of a woman floating on water on a plank of wood leaning on what looks like a nail. She is a witch and the print, dated 1643, is one from the University of Glasgow’s witch trials collection, much of which made for “pretty grim viewing”.

Nicholas said: “I love that image and people like it, weirdly. They are all from early print books or plates, all of them tucked away and [I enjoy] jumping from an old image in a book that nobody sees to that becoming a congratulations card or just a card that looks beautiful.

“It seems to make sense the older I get, but I used to have huge weird collections of printed ephemera from when I was a kid. I used to go to car boot sales and buy random letters or tins. I think I’ve always liked the way that old things look and I really love the way things are made with old skills.”

The Passenger Press has had a new home for five months now, just off the Saltmarket in Glasgow. It is one of a troupe of vibrantly painted shops on St Andrews Street that are part of a collaboration between Wasps artist studio group, Glasgow City Council and City Property to help artists and makers transition from workshops to public-facing spaces, making use of just some of the city’s many abandoned shops and buildings. The shops are five of 11 that have been given over to clients working in the creative industries on the High Street and Saltmarket.

Audrey Carlin, chief executive of Wasps, said: “This has been a creative incubation experiment. The tenants are part of a community. This initiative offers something that doesn’t already exist in the city – a transition space in which we can support creative people to move from an artist studio to a shopfront, ultimately allowing them to develop a sustainable business and contribute to Glasgow’s economy long term.”

As one of the tenants in the shops that make up the Meanwhile Space, Nicholas is able to showcase her work as well as her method, and will soon be running workshops in letter writing and pressing.

Jess Higgins, Nick Lynch and Matthew Walkerdine are three of the nine-strong collective that runs Good Press, the first shop in the row. An independent bookshop, art shop and printmaker that specialise in zines – self-published magazines and booklets of writing, images or both – Good Press is the only open submission bookshop in Europe and will be the sole stockist of some of the works.

Higgins said: “Basically, if people have made a book, they can get in touch and send us some copies and we’ll house it, unless it’s really hateful.”

The shop is a hub for artists and everyone is invited to get stuck in, says Glasgow School of Art lecturer Walkerdine. “A lot of people approach us saying they want to be involved in independent publishing, can I give a bit of my time and that’s what drives it. Just people giving a bit of their time, and their passion for paper and ink.

“It’s like a living archive to a certain extent. Things are here which may not find a home under someone’s bed and I think that’s important. Everyone here is acting outside of an editorial voice and everyone’s got a voice so are able to put it out into the world – this is why people are publishing stuff. People have got stuff to say.”

Since moving into their shop in July their reception has been overwhelmingly positive.

Walkerdine said: “The response of people who live in this area has been so positive, people coming in and saying it’s so nice to see the street back up and running.”

Next door lies Pavilion Pavilion, an exhibition space led by artist Jack Brindley, and A Library of Olfactive Material, a scent laboratory that specialises in education and experimentation run by perfumer Clara Weale.

The last shop in the row houses three artists – Sarah Henderson of Squid Ink Co, Terri Hawkins of Flowers Vermilion and Angus Wolf’s Projects Open. As close friends, Hawkins and Henderson prepare for a market the following day, their creations spreading across the shop, they speak of cementing their friendship post-babies over roast potatoes and pulling all-nighters to fulfil orders.

Henderson, who makes concrete pots and jewellery by hand, designs scented candles and hosts weaving workshops, was “demented” when she was working alone.

She said: “When you’re away from a child you want a bit of adult conversation and I was just in this little space on my own and then Terri was working from her kitchen and we thought it’d be perfect to share. This has been an absolute godsend for us.”

Without the subsidised space, the women wouldn’t have been able to realise their dreams of having a shop – meeting commercial rents and expectations as creative businesses and new mothers would have been “too much pressure”.

For florist and former set designer Hawkins, the Meanwhile Space means she can focus on events and weddings as well as have a base from which she can make her dried wreaths and bouquets to sell to passers-by and online.

“It’s meant I don’t have to keep working in my kitchen anymore,” she said. “My entire house was covered in flowers. Last night I pulled a really late night – doing it on your own sucks but we did it together and little moments like that are great.”

Hawkins styles floral fashion and commercial shoots, and demand for her fresh wedding flowers is blooming. She said: “These days with the high street going downhill and everyone buying stuff online, I think this is a really good point of interest.

“It’s the community thing and no more pressure of not having a space that is open to the public. People can find it easily, I can have consultations with brides and couples. Just being able to have a space that looks professional has really helped me.”

Councillor Angus Millar, chair of the High Street Reference Group, said: “The Meanwhile Space programme is a key part of what we are doing to revitalise the area, providing space for new and growing businesses to develop in the historic Glasgow quarter.

“Given the great heritage of this area, it’s right that many of the spaces are being used by organisations from the creative industries and I am sure they will make the High Street and Saltmarket an even more attractive place to work, live and visit.”