Mandy and Gill, Highland Artisans

Read about how Mandy and Gill moved their business into a new retail space and how this meant they were able to achieve the following key outcomes:

Green initiatives – Crafting workshops to make and create items incorporating eco-friendly practices

Collaboration – working with local businesses to lease and then share space

Community wealth building – Sourcing local crafters. Getting the right space in the town so they could remain a valuable part of Grantown’s community, rather than moving further afield

Mandy and Gill’s Story

Mandy and Gill just love making and creating, so Highland Artisans is their favourite place to be! They opened their first shop in Grantown-on-Spey in 2020, in between lockdowns. Their growing business soon needed larger space, both to sell their products but also to have a permanent workshop area where they can run classes whenever they want.

The challenge was to find the right space, in terms of its size and location and also its affordability. They were able to team up with Mark Lawson of Colin Lawson Builders, who had acquired the former Royal Bank of Scotland building on the High Street in Grantown-on-Spey and was converting it into retail space.

It was a perfect opportunity for Mandy and Gill and having moved into their new premises, their business has gone from strength to strength. They are sharing the space with Joanna Wilson Art, who is also a GrowBiz client, which has allowed another local creative to have a footprint in the High Street.

How GrowBiz supported Mandy and Gill

Mandy and Gill received direct support from GrowBiz Enterprise Facilitator Karen Martin, who was able to connect them with Mark Lawson at Colin Lawson Builders. Karen knew that Mark was turning the former Royal Bank of Scotland building in Grantown into retail space. She also knew that Highland Artisans were looking for larger premises, both for their shop and also so that they could run crafting workshops. She could see that the two businesses could work together, with both having needs that the other could meet.

Karen also supported Mandy and Gill in applying for a grant from Highland Council’s Growing Business Growth Fund, which was successful and helped fund the move into their new premises.

Discover more: https://www.highlandartisans.com