PRODUCTS from independent businesses across the Highlands and Islands are being brought together as part of a new gift box range.
More than 23 producers from Orkney, Wick, Moray and Inverness to Lochaber, Wester Ross, Harris, Lewis, Islay and Skye have been selected as part of the service.
A Whale of a Time gift boxes showcase products from the region and are organised based on different interests – so there’s a “Family Box”, “Coffee Box”, “Whisky Box” among the options available.
Helen Ross and Eilidh Marshall, who run the Inverness-based PR agency Whale-like-fish, launched the initiative to connect companies in the Highlands and Islands with consumers across the rest of the UK.
Ross said the pandemic had influenced the pair to start the service. “2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. However, adversity is the mother of invention and we were inspired to create something that would help businesses in the Highlands and Islands get their products out there and spread a little bit of joy to people all over the UK.
“By selecting some of our favourite local products and bringing them together in our curated gift boxes, we hope these gifts will help connect people again, even if they can’t be together in person.”
Marshall added she wanted to showcase the “many independent businesses in the Highlands and Islands making brilliant products”.
“We’ve made each box with the aim of creating an experience that the recipient will love, whether it’s to spend quality time with the family, to help them relax or so they can celebrate a special occasion, and each box can be personalised with your own special message,” she explained.
Producers included in A Whale of a Time gift boxes include Loch Ness Spirits, Badachro Distillery, Inverness Coffee Roasting Co., Pixel Spirits, Mix’d, Atlantic Lights, Bruichladdich Distillery, Island Bakery, Lucy Wagtail, Shore – The Scottish Seaweed Company, Pencil Me In, Cath Waters, Isle of Skye Seaweed Co., Ashers, Selkie Soap Co., Ablekids Press, Made in the Highlands, Camella Crafts, Love Tonic, Chocolates of Glenshiel, JP Orkney, Baile Mor Books and The Hebridean Tea Store.
The eight boxes in the range include The Family Box, The Coffee Box, The Tea Box, The Craft Box, The Gin Box, The Whisky Box, The Cocktail Box and The Self-Care Box.
Find out more here.
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