Family firm Angels' Share Glass proved they’re a real glass act when they scooped two top business awards.
The company, which specialises in gifts for whisky lovers, was named Best Micro Business 2016 at the Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce Awards.
The firm also won the Most Innovative Product Award, sponsored by the University of Stirling, for its unique whisky water dropper.
Karen Somerville, Angels’ Share Glass co-director, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to win both awards which are a real tribute to our staff and a great honour for myself and my dad who co-founded the firm.
“The company has seen phenomenal growth since we launched three years ago and this kind of recognition from our local business community means a lot to us.”
Angels’ Share Glass faced tough competition from fellow finalists Stirling-based telemarketing firm The Lead Generation Company and Falkirk roofing service Rooftec (Scotland) in the bid to be named Micro Business of the Year.
And on the shortlist for the Most Innovative Product or Service Award were InnPac Ltd, an Alloa firm specialising in packaging, along with Talking Mats Ltd – a Stirling social enterprise which aims to improve the lives of people with communication difficulties.
But it was the Angels’ Share Glass ground-breaking whisky water dropper which caught the attention of the judging panel.
The elegant glass pipette, created by the firm’s Master Glassblower Tom Young, allows whisky lovers to add water to their dram one drop at a time.
Karen says: “The dropper is proving to be our most popular product and the demand for it has been fantastic.
“We created the dropper in response to feedback from whisky drinkers at festivals who talked about how they often ended up spoiling their drams by adding too much water.
“We spotted a gap in the market and came up with the dropper which lets whisky lovers add water to their drink with precision.”
Angels’ Share Glass was set up by Karen and her father Tom in April 2013.
The pair launched their firm after capturing the spirit of a whisky producers’ legend, known as the Angels’ Share, through the creation of handmade glass angels filled and sealed with 30ml of single malt in a secret process.
Angels’ Share Glass is currently running a crowdfunding bid to raise £25,000 to create a state-of-the-art glassblowing studio at their Bridge of Allan headquarters.
The move will allow them to increase production and train a new generation of glassmakers to continue their glassblowing legacy.
So far, nearly £7,500 has been donated and the ambitious campaign will run on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo until the end of April.
Karen says: “We’ve been blown away by the generous response to our Crowdfunding initiative and we’re so grateful to everyone who has supported us so far.
“We’ve still a fair way to go and we’d be delighted to see more people invest in the firm.
“The new studio will mean a lot to us – we can increase production and my dad can train up more apprentices who can help keep glassblowing alive in the heart of Scotland.”
Anyone who wants to contribute to the campaign can do so via http://igg.me/at/angelsstudio
