Originally from Ayrshire, my family and I moved to Bute – and another dairy farm – in 1997. I have been with the Mount Stuart Trust in various capacities since 1999; initially, in seasonal and temporary positions, before becoming a permanent member of staff in February 2004. I joined the collections department in April 2003 to undertake a database project to photograph the collections and continue to populate and update the existing collections database. Highlights include re-discovering the Burges cutlery set, which had not been seen for around 80 years, and the 4^th Marquess of Bute’s wedding film from 1905. I have a BA in Management from Heriot Watt University and began the MLitt Archives and Records Management course by distance learning at Dundee University in 2009, qualifying as an archivist with a post-graduate diploma in 2012. I completed the Masters in 2014 and becoming archivist for the Bute family and Mount Stuart Trust in 2015. Each qualification has been completed while working full time. Since 2010, I have undertaken several visits throughout the UK, Europe, the USA and Singapore to accompany Bute collection and archive items to exhibitions. At Mount Stuart I have hosted and supervised student cataloguing placements from the Universities of Glasgow, Dundee, Stirling and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and began a collaborative cataloguing programme with Aberystwyth University in 2017. I am currently leading the project to continue cataloguing of the internationally important Bute archive.