Brora Artist Nominated for Scottish Variety Awards 2013

It's great to see that Lola Nicol, Artist, from Brora has been nominated in the Best New Scottish Artist/Designer category in this year's Scottish Variety Awards.

To see all the nominations and vote in any of the categories, follow this link:
Lola's website is here; Link

The PTYBS Awards

Craig Dunlop, Elly Knight and PTYBS Regional Manager, Alithea Watson, at the Awards

What a great time we  had at the PTYBS (formerly PSYBT) Awards held on Tuesday at the City Chambers in Glasgow. 

Of the six Regional Finalists, Highland was represented by EllyKnight (no relation!) and Craig Dunlop from the Red Roof Cafe in Skye.  We didn't win but Elly and Craig took away a cheque for £750 and made quite a few new friends at the Event,  which was hosted by Fred MacAulay.

The overal Winner was Bright Care from Edinburgh.

For more information, contact PTYBS or in Highland, Alithea Watson on 01463 228340

Wild Game Company - In the Top Five....

 The Wild Game Co., owned by Ardgay's Andy Waugh and launched with help from Business Gateway, has been announced by the Evening Standard as one of the top 5 Game Restaurants in London.

Andy's business uses the finest of Sutherland's game products supplied by the family business, the Ardgay Game Company.


Read the full article here: Link
Wild Game Co. website: Link

SCDI Business Excellence Awards

We've been asked to pass on the details of this year's SCDI Business Excellence Awards being held in Inverness on 14 September 2012:

"...The SCDI Highlands and Islands Business Excellence Awards provide a unique platform to showcase the achievements of the region's organisations and celebrate excellence in a wide range of sectors. The event is a highlight in the Highland Business calendar attended by over 340 guests drawn from across the business and economic community.

We are delighted to announce that Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, will be the guest speaker at this year’s Highlands & Islands Annual Dinner & Business Excellence Awards. ....with after dinner entertainment provided by Hugh Dennis, and the evening hosted by the BBC broadcaster Sally Magnusson, the evening promises to be one to remember. 

Entries are currently being sought for the following award categories:

Benromach Award for Excellence in International Business This award will be presented to the organisation, based in the Highlands and Islands, which can best demonstrate a track-record of outstanding achievement in the global marketplace.  

The Crown Estate One to Watch Award for Excellence in a Marine Business This award will be presented to the small marine business, based in the Highlands and Islands, which can best demonstrate emerging growth potential and innovation. This should be supported by evidence of business performance, environmental care and sustainability and may also include local community involvement.  

Global Energy Award for Excellence in People Development This award will be presented to the organisation, based in the Highlands and Islands, which can best demonstrate its commitment to developing the skills of its employees. 

Highlands and Islands Enterprise Award for Excellence in Research and Innovation This award will be presented to the organisation, based in the Highlands and Islands, which can best demonstrate the application of Research and/or Innovation to improve their competitiveness.  

ScotRail Award for Excellence in Business Service & Engagement This award will be presented to the business, in the Highlands and Islands, which has had the greatest impact on other businesses or their sector through innovative service or engagement. 

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency Award for Excellence in Environmental Sustainability This award will be presented to the business or organisation, based in the Highlands and Islands, which can best demonstrate its commitment and overall approach to improving its environmental performance and resource efficiency.

SCDI Highlands & Islands Chairman's Award for Oustanding Business Achievement This award will be presented to the company, based in the Highlands and Islands, which best demonstrates having made a significant positive contribution to the regional economy...."

All the event details can be found here: Link

HCA/NADFAS Grant - Call for Entries

Our good friends at Hi-Arts have brought this to our attention:

"The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) and the National Association of Decorative and Fine Art Societies (NADFAS) are delighted to be working in partnership for the first time to offer The HCA NADFAS Grant 2012. 

One of HCA’s key aims is to ensure that heritage crafts skills of the highest standard are passed from one generation to the next. Support of our national heritage has been one of the cornerstones of NADFAS since its inception in 1968. This grant will specifically support traditional crafts that contribute to our living heritage e.g. basketry, weaving, wood working, shoe making, metal working and so on. 

The grant primarily looks to offer help for the training of apprentices. However NADFAS and HCA are well aware that apprenticeships are not the only route to learn a craft skill and other training routes are included..."

For more information, follow the link

Collaboration Prize - deadline for entries 31 July 2012

 Co-operative Development Scotland has launched a £30,000 Collaboration Prize. It aims to encourage businesses to consider collaboration and pitch their idea for a new consortium co-operative.

Up to three winning ideas for collaborative projects will be selected to receive a cash prize of £5,000 and up to 10 days of consultancy support, to scope out the initial concept.

The funding can be used for a variety of different purposes, including:
• Buying products or services together to achieve volume discounts and cost savings
• Facilitating access to new markets - marketing and selling together
• Sharing resources such as premises or capital equipment
• Tendering to bid for higher value contracts
• Providing mutual support and advice among members

To help businesses find out more and complete their application, in partnership with Co-operative Development Scotland, we will be delivering an explanatory workshop.

Venue:   Business Gateway Inverness
Date:     Tuesday 12th July 2012
Time:    0930h for 1000h

Full details here: link

Scotland Food & Drink Awards 2012

Here's a message from Scotland Food & Drink

Applications for the 2012 Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards are now open.

The awards, run jointly by Scotland Food & Drink and the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, have been recognising and rewarding the very best in Scottish food and drink for many years and continue to be considered a true badge of excellence.

This year, for the first time, we are delighted to welcome ASDA as main sponsors. We also offer our thanks to all other sponsors, listed above, for their support of the 2012 awards.

Within the awards, there are a total of 17 categories aimed at rewarding companies and their products in areas such as skills development and new product innovation and everything in between.

We encourage all those who believe they are working hard to excel in any sphere of the food and drink industry to consider entering.

Entries close on Friday 2 March 2012.

If you have any queries about the entry process, please contact David Cochrane on 0131 335 6207 or davidac@rhass.org.uk

For further information, visit the Scotland Food & Drink website: (Link)

Golspie Mill on The Radio

Photo: Golspie Mill 

Golspie Mill (Link), producers of high-quality stoneground products from their restored watermill, are featured in this week's Radio 4 Food Programme; celebrating their success as finalists in the Food & Farming Awards

You can listen to the programme here:
I-Player Food Programme

Or download a Podcast:

Food Programme Podcast

Lucy is Young Ambassador of the Year

Lucy Midgely-Smith (left) Collects Her Award

Lucy Midgely-Smith has been named as "Young Ambassador of the Year" at the 2011 Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards.  Lucy (a student who, incidentally, probably makes the finest cocktails in the North) has been trained well by her parents - who own the Crannag Bistro in Bonar Bridge.

For the full list of winners, follow this link

More Sutherland Food Businesses in the News - Part Three

The Crannag Bistro in Bonar Bridge is shortlisted in the Final of the Highlands & Islands Food Awards Restaurant of the Year  - and if that wasn't enough, Lucy Midgely-Smith, daughter of Crannag's owners, has been shortlisted in the Young Ambassador category. 

Good Luck to them  - and also to Saladworx who are shortlisted in three categories.

Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards

Here's a message from The Highlands & Islands Tourism Awards.

The 2011 Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards are open for entries!

Make 2011 count and don’t miss your chance to enter your business into this year’s awards!

The awards are completely free to enter and are open to tourism businesses of all sizes within the Highlands and Islands.

Please visit www.highland-tourism-awards.co.uk for full details and to submit your entry into one or more of the categories.

Please note the closing date for entries is Friday 29th July

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the event management team on 01224 646488 or e-mail info@highland-tourism-awards.co.uk

Kind Regards

Sarah

The Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards Team

www.highland-tourism-awards.co.uk

01224 646488

Back from Italy...

The Ullapool High School Team (and Support Crew)

While I'm putting a Photo gallery together, here's a slideshow of the European Business Game Final held in Piacenza on the 28th June.  

 

The overall winning team came from France, Ullapool High School won the Social Responsibility Award and a great time was had by all.

Henrietta is Young Designer of the Year

Henrietta (photo: Terry Chin)

PSYBT Alumni,  Henrietta Ludgate, has just won Young Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards in Glasgow.  Following a tremendous amount of success and recognition in her first couple of years of trading, Strathpeffer-based Henrietta was watched by an audience which included Lulu, Dame Shirley Bassey and Samantha Cameron; in addition to Fashion Industry VIPs.

Congratulations to Henrietta from all of us at PSYBT and Business Gateway.

Food & Drink Excellence Awards 2011 - Saladworx do it again...

David & Michelle of Saladworx pick up another addition to their trophy cabinet.

At the risk of seeming repetitive, Saladworx have won yet another award.
 
Hosted by BBC Radio 2 food expert Nigel Barden and sponsored by Clydesdale Bank, the 15th Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards recognise the best of Scotland’s food and drink industry.

The entries were judged by a panel comprising industry experts and journalists and the hotly contested product awards were presented to some of the country’s most innovative and exciting companies.

Dornoch-based Saladworx won Product of the Year and Product Innovation of the Year.

Cabinet Secretary (Rural Affairs & Environment) Richard Lochhead congratulated the booming food and drink sector in Scotland and underlined its ongoing importance to Scotland’s economic recovery. The Cabinet Secretary also announced a £2.64 million Scottish Funding Council package to establish a Scotland-wide food and drink innovation network with 17 Scottish universities. Part of the Scotland Food & Drink industry strategy, the delivery of the innovation network is the culmination of three years of work and collaboration.

Mr Lochhead said: “Once again, the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards have showcased an impressive variety of the very best Scotland has to offer. It’s great to see returning names maintaining high standards, as well as some new entries who have successfully shaped innovation into excellence."

And while we're in a congratulating frame of mind..

Congratulations to Sutherland businesses, Saladworx (temporary site here) and Highlands Unbridled (link) for reaching the Final of the Business Gateway Highland & Moray Awards.

This means that, of the four finalists in the Existing Business category, two are from this County.

The finalist businesses will face an expert Panel in Inverness on April 5th and will compete for a £5000 cash prize.  For further information about the competition, contact Selina Rennie

Business Gateway Awards

It has now been confirmed that the 2011 Business Gateway Dragons' Den will take place in Inverness Town House from 9am to 2pm on Tuesday 5th April 2011.

The competition is open to any enterprise registered with Business Gateway in Highland & Moray and there will be two categories: Young Business of the Year (trading for less than 18 months) and Business of the Year (trading for more than 18 months). Each category winner will receive £5000.


We're hoping for a great showing from Sutherland businesses and, if anyone requires any further details, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Closing Date is 7th February 2011
The Application Form and full details can be downloaded here: Link

Sutherland Food Businesses Just Keep Winning

Crannag Bistro

Two Sutherland businesses won their categories in the 2010 Williamson Foodservice Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards .  We all know how good our local food businesses are but it's great to see this acknowledged in this prestigious event.

Saladworxs  who produce a range of over 80 salad leaves from their base at Mill Farm near  Dornoch, won the Innovation Prize.

Bonar Bridge's  The Crannag Bistro  (where this office will be celebrating Christmas) scooped the Highlands & Islands Restaurant of the Year Award.


Congratulation to both businesses. You can find the full details of the Awards here.

PSYBT Awards - Highland Final

 Henrietta MacKay-Ludgate and Cllr Helen Carmichael, Regional Chair of PSYBT

Congratulations to Henrietta MacKay-Ludgate for winning first prize at the Highland Final of the PSYBT Awards; the latest in a series of awards and accolades for this Dingwall-based business. 

Henrietta is a fashion designer, a graduate of Central St Martin's School of Art who is already making a significant mark in the industry.  For the full story, have a look the business website. Link

Her cash prize, sponsored by the Highland Council, and a framed certificate were presented at a Gala Event in Inverness Town House yesterday.   With only the briefest time for celebration, Henrietta  left almost immediately for London to take part in the Sustainable Fashion Show at Prince Charles' home in London, Clarence House. 
 
The PSYBT Awards recognise outstanding early-years business achievement among PSYBT-supported clients and Henrietta now enters the draw for a place in the Scottish Final to be held in Glasgow in November.

For more information about The Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust in the Highlands, contact Alithea Watson

(Photo: Clive Grewcock)