An Edinburgh dad is transforming an old warehouse into a party hall for kids and teenagers - thanks to his seven-year-old daughter's designs.
Andy Marshall, 42, is creating the venue in Longstone after being inspired by his youngest child's vision.
The dad-of-four told Edinburgh Live his daughter Sky has a 'creative spirit'.
He said: "The idea of going into property owning originally started after me and my wife Natalie decided that working full-time wasn't for us, and we wanted to start afresh on a new adventure.
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"Originally, we were planning to open a coffee shop in Longstone, but during our viewing of the possible location for the cafe, our wee girl Sky spotted the DJ booth inside the function hall next to it and came to us with a fantastic idea.
"She said to me, what if you opened a party place in that hall, and have birthday parties for kids in it? I went along with her idea at first, she is full of creative spirit, and asked what she'd call it, and what would be inside.
"I don't think any of us were ready for her response - Sky decided to call it 'The Party Place', and have birthday parties, different events and discos inside, as a way to bring everyone together.
"I just looked over at my Natalie and thought - why not? So, The Party Place was born."
Andy felt The Party Place is just what the local community needs.
He added: "After the couple of year's we've all had, with the current climate and so on, I felt like the community needed a little lift, and something more positive and fun in their lives.
"Since we announced the new party venue, the locals could not have been kinder to us, and everyone is really excited for when the doors finally open."
"So far, we have a karate club booked in for classes on a Tuesday and a Thursday, as the place where they used to train is closed at the minute.
"We are hoping to run kids birthday parties with different themes, things liek yoga classes, and even an Under-16s disco on a Friday for all the teens in the area."
The Broomhouse-born entrepreneur wants to create a safe space for kids around the ages of 14-16, as their lives have been turned upside down during the pandemic.
He commented, "When I was younger, I had a wee disco I could go to at the weekends, and hang out with my friends.
"These kids have nothing like that right now, and a lot of them have resorted to hanging out in the streets, which can lead to bad habits and trouble for them.
" I wanted to create a safe space for these teenagers, so they can still enjoy being young during these unprecedented times we are all living in."
Mini-marketer Sky's ideas did not win over everyone at first though - her three teenage brothers Sam, Kyle and Joey were less than impressed with the idea of a party hall.
Andy said, "The boys told me 'Nobody is going to want to go to that dad, especially not folk our age', so I decided to prove a point.
"I took them to the hall, turned the lights down and just played some music - they were taking aback and just said 'Wow, I didn't expect it to be like this!
"So, after winning them over, I know that this will be a positive adventure for our whole family."
The Party Place is scheduled for opening at the end of August, and Andy hopes that it will be a fun addition to the Longstone community.
He said, "I am looking forward to seeing how much positivity this place can bring to the people of Longstone, and just to have a right good old time with it!"
For more information on The Party Place, contact Andy and his family on their website, here.
