A small, family-run business which creates fun, eco-friendly home accessories from high-quality and sustainable Scottish pine has opened its first store in Overgate, Dundee after winning the centre’s ‘Grow at Overgate’ initiative.
Crafted Pine Co was one of 16 applicants for the inaugural competition which offers small business owners or entrepreneurs from Dundee the opportunity to win retail space in the busy centre for a year free of charge. The family-run operation which launched in 2015 from a humble garden workshop as nothing more than a hobby, and has organically grown in popularity via speciality e-commerce site Etsy, made the final shortlist of seven.
As a result, Don Tait, Owner and Managing Director was then invited to deliver a presentation about the company’s business concept to Tom Williams and James Salvesen, Fund Managers at Legal & General – owner of Overgate – and Malcolm Angus, Centre Manager. Don’s presentation scored highly across the board particularly for Crafted Pine Co’s social and environmental values, the quality of its products and future vision.
Crafted Pine Co donate a percentage of their profits to charity and are committed to sustainability by using recycled packaging, recycling all waste, using water-based and non-toxic paints and varnishes and most importantly, using a sustainable source of wood as well as planting trees in the Caledonian forest to offset the company’s carbon footprint.
The business is very much a family affair with Don deploying his woodwork skills to make the products, daughter Sharlene providing the design inspiration, second daughter Lisa overseeing the company’s marketing and social media and son Sean kept busy in charge of painting the products as well as managing the website which is regularly updated.
This strong homegrown story impressed the panel and as a result Crafted Pine Co was named the inaugural winner of ‘Grow at Overgate’.
Speaking about the achievement, Don said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won. As a small, family-run business from Dundee, this is a huge opportunity for us to bring our handmade, Scandi-inspired homewares to a new audience. We can’t thank Overgate enough for this life-changing opportunity. It really is a dream come true for our family and we cannot wait to welcome everyone through the doors.”
Malcolm Angus says Overgate is delighted to be welcoming Crafted Pine Co to the centre: “We were highly impressed with the response to our first ‘Grow at Overgate’ initiative and received multiple high-quality submissions during the application process. The standard of Crafted Pine Co’s entry though really caught our attention. The team here at Overgate, and Legal & General, have a shared passion for social and environment values and Crafted Pine Co ticked these boxes. This is an exciting opportunity for Don and his team and Overgate is delighted to be providing an important first-step on their retail journey. We would encourage shoppers to visit the store and see the fantastic range of products, and support what is an inspiring homegrown success story.”
Crafted Pine Co opened on Saturday 19th September and is located on the upper floor of Overgate, opposite Subway and between Starbucks and Chopstix, and promises to delight its many existing fans, as well as a legion of new ones. With its range of handcrafted contemporary décor pieces, personalised collectables and striking storage and furniture for kid's rooms and nurseries to home offices, the design must-haves range from bright and playful to beautiful, natural Scottish pine.
SDI (Dundee 2) Limited
The Overgate Centre, Dundee is owned and managed by Legal & General, the largest commercial property company in the UK.
