The Neep Lantern Workshop, Perth (1987–2026): Carved Turnips by Hand, Was Undercut by Pumpkins and Wrists
Seasonal shop off Scott Street made traditional Halloween lanterns to order. Closed after its final turnip 'simply refused'.
Turnip lanterns, the Neep Lantern Workshop's life's work. Photo: Smirkybec, “Turnip Jack-o'-lantern 2019 01”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Neep Lantern Workshop, which opened every October for 39 years in a small unit off Scott Street, has closed for the last time.
It made traditional Scottish Halloween lanterns from turnips, carved by hand to customer specifications. Popular designs included “Scary Face”, “Very Scary Face” and “Your Uncle”, which was made from a photograph.
At its peak in the 1990s, the workshop employed four carvers and went through two tonnes of neeps every Halloween. But the rise of the pumpkin hit it hard. “They’re soft,” the founder used to say. “Any eejit can carve a pumpkin. A neep takes character.”
The end came this week when the final turnip of the season — a particularly dense specimen from the Carse of Gowrie — broke three knives and a spoon. The workshop’s owner looked at it, put down his tools, and said: “That’s me.”
The Neep Lantern Workshop is survived by a pile of very good mash.
The real story: Perth and Kinross news (The Courier)
Letters to the Editor
The views expressed are those of the reader, and frankly that's on them.
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Bought my ‘Your Uncle’ lantern there in 1999. It looked exactly like my uncle. He never forgave me.
— Duncan R., Perth, 30 October 2026 -
Rest in peace, Neep Lantern Workshop. Gone but not forgotten. Still smell it in the garage.
— Pat M., Scone, 30 October 2026
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