Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Essence of Harris scoops national family business award

Deenie and Jamie McGowan have been awarded a national Community title at the 2021 Family Business of the Year Awards for their business, Essence of Harris.
Deenie and Jamie McGowan have been awarded a national Community title at the 2021 Family Business of the Year Awards for their business, Essence of Harris.

Essence of Harris, a luxury candle and home living brand based in the Outer Hebrides, has been awarded the national Community title at the 2021 Family Business of the Year Awards.

Organised by Family Business United (FBU), the annual award ceremony aims to put the UK’s family business sector on the map.

Other Scottish family business winners at the awards ceremony included food producers Macsween of Edinburgh (The People’s Choice Award) and Arbikie Distillery, Arbroath (Scottish Regional Award).

Family and community

Founded by Jamie and Deenie McGowan, Essence of Harris began in 2015 around the kitchen table and has since grown into a business with international reach.

The company designs, develops and hand-pours its candles and home fragrance products from its factory in Tarbert, incorporating an artisan approach inspired by Harris’ historic tweed industry.

A sense of family and community lies at the business’s core, which has created numerous sustainable job opportunities for locals on the island.

Global appeal

Jamie McGowan, of Essence of Harris, tells us that family was the sole reason that he began the business six years ago.

“At the beginning, it was just about creating a business that could support our own family,” he says.

“It’s grown through time into the global business that it is today – we now have a workforce of 26 and are selling globally to places like China and America.

We recently won awards in a New York trade show (NY NOW) for being one of the best emerging brands in the US.

“From being a window cleaner eight years ago to now, across my three businesses, we’re the largest employers in Harris.”

Culture

Jamie also adds that Essence of Harris adapted to become a sanitiser business during the pandemic and that he is “very grateful” for the government support received through the furlough scheme.

Gaining recognition with the Community award win, for Jamie, reinforces the business’ integral values of family and community.

“We were delighted when we found out,” he says.

“People from the island as well as others from the mainland have come over to work for us and helped drive our business forward.

“It doesn’t matter how successful the business is, it’s the culture that we’ve created that’s so important.”

Worthy winners

Paul Andrews, founder of FBU and organiser of the Family Business of the Year Awards, says: “Family businesses are the engine room of the UK economy.

“The Community award seeks to recognise a family firm that supports and nurtures their community and makes a real difference.

“Essence of Harris are worthy winners of this national title because of who they are, the importance of community in the way they operate and for their dedication to creating sustainable jobs and a bright future for their family and employees.”

www.essenceofharris.co.uk