Crossford: Kin Bees make Visit Scotland indie stores list

Gael Wilkinson has been a busy bee lately, working hard to provide local honey to the community through her business, Kin Bees, and it has paid off!

Her shop was one of six stores to be featured from our city.

She told the Press: "It's good, I'm really proud of it actually.

"It did come as a little bit of a shock but I am really pleased."

What started out as a hobby has bloomed into a career – Gael now harvests honey from her bees and uses the wax to make soaps and candles. Nothing goes to waste.

"It started off as a hobby and now it has turned into a business. It just got bigger and bigger each year, based on the demand for local produce. I think definitely the lockdown helped that, people started looking more local," Gael explained.

"It's just gone a bit crazy, this year has been my best yet. It has been so busy!

"I try and be sustainable, all my packaging is recycled or recyclable and I am plastic-free. I also use up the beeswax because when you extract the honey you end up with some so I use that beeswax to make soaps and candles."

The importance of shopping locally was underlined during and after the lockdown with small, independent businesses suffering the most.

Gael said shopping on the doorstep helps boost the local economy and continued: "There's such a demand I think for all locally-produced food, not just honey but vegetables, meat and eggs. If you see how many little companies popped up doing graze boxes and it's just gone really well for a lot of people and it has been really good to see a lot of people setting up their own business.

"Support your local small businesses because if you don't support them, you lose them."

Joining Gael on the indie shop list is comic store Little Shop of Heroes, in the Maygate; Townhill Road gallery Art Room 59; Dickson Street haberdashery and workshop Buttons and Blethers; homeware, accessories and clothing shop Clarabella Christies and the Abbot House Gift Shop, both Maygate.