CORALBOX gift shop was set up three years ago by Eilidh Carr, who grew up on Berneray, a small island south of Harris with a population of around 130. After moving to Aberdeen to study photography in 2012, she came back to the island in 2015 and started selling mugs and posters decorated with her photos at craft fairs before setting up the shop.

Name: Eilidh Carr
Age: 27
Position: Founder

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?

Coralbox

WHERE IS IT BASED?

Berneray, North Uist

WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?

I MOVED away to Aberdeen to study photography and moved back home again. I started to put photos on posters and mugs and selling them at craft fairs and that took off. In the winter of 2016 I converted a caravan into a shop and it got busier so I started work on a new wooden shop. There are products from 20 other businesses in the shop and many of them make stuff on the islands. I previously worked in the Co-op and John Lewis so had a shop background and wanted to run my own one.

I tried to ask for some investment when I set up but the shop didn’t fit the criteria. I used my own savings but I think that makes you work harder.

In June this year I won “entrepreneur of the year” at the Young Women in Tourism awards in Edinburgh for the story of Coralbox. Also in July, Coralbox Gift Shop became a finalist in the retail category at the National Family Business Awards held in London.

WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?

WHEN we first started it was mainly tourists but since the new cycle and walking route from Barra to Stornoway there have been more campervans. The islands have got busier in the past four years. There are lots of holiday self-caterings and things and a big mixture of people. We get a lot of locals in too.

People say it looks little from the outside but it is packed on the inside. There aren’t many gift shops in the Outer Hebrides so I’m trying to be different. It’s just me running it and I do six days a week during summer.

The National:

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?

I TRY to get different products and it’s just me there so I want to be the face of the shop. There’s a coffee machine and WiFi so sometimes people come and visit without buying anything.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

PROBABLY being my own business so I can run it my own way. I love meeting everyone – it’s my fourth summer here so sometimes people come back to the shop. I enjoy when people find a nice gift and go away happy. I work from March to September and then close for a few weeks and reopen for Christmas. I take January and February off – there are not many jobs where you can do that. My mum and dad help out and I would hire someone if it got a lot busier.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

BEING in such a remote area. Bad weather impacts whether people want to go out and the weather can still be bad in summer. Working for yourself can also be lonely – I talk to myself a lot.

IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?

YES, I think so. I can’t imagine having my little shop anywhere else. Half of my products are from Scotland and the other half I buy in. It is a special and unique feeling being able to both live and work in such a beautiful and rural community and be able to call it my home.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS’ TIME?

BEING open all year if the islands get busier. I could make the shop bigger with an extension or another shop but I’m not sure yet. It has definitely got a lot busier since I started – it is now more well-known and the islands are busier. This year’s Call the Midwife Christmas special was filmed in Harris which is connected by a causeway and ferry to Uist so we’re expecting more visitors to the islands based on that.