Nith Valley Embroidery sews up a storm in Dumfries and Galloway

A small embroidery business has managed to keep up with a huge surge in demand, thanks to a £15,000 grant from South of Scotland Enterprise.

Based in Sanquhar, Nith Valley Embroidery is a small enterprise that provides a bespoke embroidery service for school wear, corporate wear, personalised gifts and special occasions.

The company was purchased 2 years ago by Nan McKenzie - a local resident who is passionate about arts and crafts.

Nan wanted to provide a high quality, reliable and innovative service to the local community and surrounding region.

She recently received an exciting offer of additional work from local barbers ‘Mrs Howat’s Vintage Barbers’ who had started their own online merchandising business.

They asked if Nith Valley could provide a reliable service to help them cope with their increasing orders.

This was a significant opportunity for the business in terms of growth potential, but they desperately needed to purchase some new machinery – and this is where South of Scotland Enterprise was able to help with some of the funds.

 

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Nan McKenzie, Owner of Nith Valley Embroidery (pictured above) said:  “We had been looking at different funding options to help us purchase a new machine to keep up with all the orders. The machine we were looking to purchase was £30,000. This would increase production capacity by some 7/8 times, but we really needed some help to buy it.

“When we got the phone call to say we had been approved for the SOSE grant we were ecstatic!  It had been a hard 2 years from when we first opened, as we had to start from scratch, and completely renovate the shop.

“Before purchasing the machine, we would never have been able to do all the additional orders, so the grant is really benefitting the whole local community - and we are extremely grateful to SOSE for their support.”

 Professor Russel Griggs OBE, Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise said:  “As the new economic agency for the South of Scotland, we will do what we can to help anyone and any organisation who can help the economy of the South of Scotland- no matter how big or small they are. Our mission is to work with people and businesses in communities, right across the South of Scotland - to grow its economy by providing investment, expertise and mentoring.

“I am delighted we could help Nith Valley Embroidery achieve just that, and I hope by giving them a helping hand to grow their business, they will be able to continue to thrive and grow.

“Nan’s reputation in Sanquhar has exceeded all expectations, and with only a small staff compliment behind her, it’s clear Nith Valley Embroidery are dedicated to their customer needs and are doing a great job.”