Meet the businesses breathing life back into remote communities

Rozlyn Little goes in search of these intrepid entrepreneurs to discover their motivation, the difficulties they have faced … and the successes they have celebrated.

Mati Ventrillon

Fair Isle Knitwear

Halfway between Shetland and Orkney, exposed to the worst that the North Atlantic can throw at it, lies Fair Isle. At only three miles long, this rugged island is an unlikely location for a business – but Mati Ventrillon has made it her mission to restore the original Fair Isle style of knitwear.

It all started when her husband spotted an old National Trust for Scotland property to buy on the island. The couple instantly recognised the opportunity, believing it would be the perfect place to raise future children.

They put their names forward, but were rejected: “We loved the island when we came to visit, and we decided to keep in contact with the National Trust and we asked if any property was made available in the future, would they consider us? And they did.”

Within a year, they had moved to Fair isle, in another NTS property that had come up for sale.

Mati is trained as an architect, but couldn’t find work on the island. She’d done some knitting in the past and, though she admits she was far from passionate about it, she was drawn to the geometric patterns of the island’s famous knitwear and began working with the Fair Isle Crafts Co-operative in 2007.

The company specialised in creating Fair Isle pieces and continuing the craft, traditionally designed to provide clothing for the island’s men when they were away on whaling ships.

She fell in love with it, and when the company was dissolved in 2011, she decided to continue its legacy by herself. “It started as a bespoke business. The fact that I did it online was a big change for the island, because people here would just take pre-orders over the cruise ship that comes here.”

The business had been a significant success, attracting orders from the UK and around the world. She has even locked horns with legendary fashion house Chanel; according to reports in 2015, Mati’s shop was visited by two Chanel staff members who bought her garments saying it was for “research”. The encounter led to accusations that Mati’s designs had been plagiarised, and the fashion giant was eventually forced to issue a formal apology.

However, it’s not all plain sailing for a business operating on such a remote island. Mati faces many challenges – not least the weather – but she has learned to “accept it and move on”, especially when it comes to poor internet signal.

“It means you can’t really upload things or send high-resolution photos. Everything is high-definition now, so when I’m working with the graphic designers and photographers we have to find alternative ways. They will send me USB flash drives in the post. I can see the images that way. Then I send a list of selections and coordinate it like that. It can be quite funny. But this can delay things.”

The population of Fair Isle was approximately 400 people in 1900, but now stands at just 54 – including the couple’s two children.

Mati knows more must be done to boost the island’s population – and islanders have put in place a development plan to bring at least five new young families to the island. As well as employing a local director, she recently hired an ex-intern who is originally from France: “Bringing young people is very important,” she says. “When I moved here, the population was about 70 something, and it has decreased significantly in the last 10 years.”

She believes that the fact she is producing her knitwear, which is handcrafted using 100% Shetland wool, on the island has helped her boost the success of her business – as well as giving them an understanding of the heritage that lies behind it.

“This is the place where the tradition originated, so the knitting appeared here and is known because of the island. That is a massive advantage in terms of promotion of the business.”

She added: “We are in the place where the knitwear originated. It’s gave us an understanding of the history and the heritage. It’s given us an understanding of the lifestyle. I think that’s really important in terms of the focus of our business, and how we want to grow.”

I have to cut our interview short as a cruise ship is approaching, with 150 people on board. She tells me that these customers do a lot in boosting the local economy. So, what is the main goal of Fair Isle Knitwear?

“I think that the end game of the business is to grow enough that it can function without me and provide for future generations.”

Michael and Katie Morrison

Isle of Barra Distillers

The company was established by husband and wife team Michael and Katie Morrison. It produces high-end gin with seaweed botanicals native to the Isle of Barra and celebrated its first birthday on August 14.

“My wife and I were looking into starting the business for quite a wee while. The motivation and the inspiration behind it was to give something back to the island. We’re both from Barra, so the idea of creating a business that hadn’t been done before was also another goal.”

Despite its youth, it is already sold across the UK, and in Denmark and Germany. The German distribution deal was signed just last week, and the couple hope to expand into five or six more countries by the end of next year. Recently, the company has been made a finalist in the Best New Business for the Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards.

The gin is part of the couple’s ultimate dream to open a whisky distillery on the island – hopefully within five years. If successful, it will be Scotland’s most westerly distillery.

At 16 years old, Michael Morrison left Barra for Glasgow. He stayed there for 10 years and launched his first business at 20, Barmor, which produced bespoke wooden gift packaging for the whisky industry. The couple put a stop to the business when they both realised the potential of producing their own gin. However, they didn’t forget about their ties to the whisky industry:

“The whisky distillery has and always will be our main goal in terms of a product/brand. It was an easy descion to make and I knew that a Single Malt whisky distillery would without a doubt work and be a success on the Island. The Gin was always a piece in the jigsaw to take us to the distillery but I also knew that doing that would help create a unique brand along the way.”

However, perhaps the greatest achievement of the company has been the opportunity that it has offered to the residents of Barra.

“On the island, employment is quite hard to come by. This offered a different route to employment. It’s the same sort of jobs on the island, so by creating this we hoped it would offer something different that would give people a different perspective.”

The couple’s business venture has already created four local jobs, but they don’t plan to stop there. “If we keep going the way were going, we hope to take on a couple of people every year, and then five years down the line we want to have a posting of 20-25 people. That’s a big work force for an island this kind of size.”

The locals of Barra were right behind Michael and Katie on their endeavour.

“We’ve had great support from the island itself. When we launched last August in the local community hall, it went really well. The place was full with locals and it was a great night. So, they came out in force and they’re still supporting us to this day.”

The team handle marketing and distribution themselves, instead of relying on outsourcing. He admits this is difficult but more rewarding, and it is sometimes a challenge to get the gin to the neighbouring island.

In spite of this, the Isle of Barra distillery continues to flourish, and the Morrisons say they wouldn’t want to start the business anywhere else. A few weeks ago they had their first child, and hope that he will one day continue their legacy:

“It’s not the money that motivates the two of us. It’s trying to create something that hasn’t been done on the island and something that’s going to be left there for years to come.” We won’t reap the rewards as much as people that are maybe going to take over after were gone. That’s the whole plan. To build something up that we can leave behind for someone else to carry on.”

RISKS OUTWEIGHED BY REWARDS

Stuart MacKinnon, of the Federation of Small businesses, knows the challenges facing new businesses in remote areas – but he also is keen to stress the huge rewards, for local communities as much as the entrepreneurs themselves.

“In remote areas there are relatively few large public sector bodies, and over three quarters of private-sector employment is generated by small to medium sized firms. And if there are not a lot of employment options among large businesses and in the public sector but they still want to stay in the area, then they must be more inclined to start on your own.

“If you want to be within your community but there is not a job that suits your skills, you can set up on your own.

“We have research that shows that business start-ups or registered business start-ups runs at about half the rate in rural than urban areas, but what’s important to remember is the context of those figures.

“We hear from our rural neighbours who often talk fondly about their local community, and in our experience the success of many local towns and villages and rural areas is often tied up with the success of their local businesses.

“What we do tend to find is that businesses will offer each other advice and support. Obviously you do find a degree of that in urban centres as well, but you might find that if more people know each other then they are more likely to give them support when they need it.”