TWO crafty sisters are celebrating this week after the business they run together was voted Scotland's retailer of the year.
Natalie Cutler, 50, and Michele Elder, 51, who run the Just Create craft shop in Polbeth's Daks Bu
ilding, lifted the prestigious title at the industry-led Origin Craft awards in Birmingham's NEC last Sunday.
The talented crafters went one step further this year after scooping the runner-up award in 2009 despite opening their shop eight months before the recession.
"To do so well this early is just phenomenal," said Natalie. "The shops we were up against are all well established and we are the new kids on the block.
"It's really down to our customers who voted for us, so we are really grateful to them that they think so highly of us and we really enjoy interacting with our customers.
"I think the secret to our success is that we take time with customers and crafting is a tight-knit community so word spreads. It's a big thing, not just for West Lothian but Scotland as well."
The siblings have been crafters most of their lives, especially Michele, who gave up a career as a community care manager to start up the business with Natalie – a former call centre manager at Sky in Livingston – in November 2007.
Crafting is an art form enjoyed by millions of people who love to make their own jewellery, cards paintings and scrapbooks among hundreds of other niche gifts and creations.
Natalie and Michele decided to set up shop in West Lothian as, being avid crafters, they had to travel a 100-mile round trip each time they wanted to pick up supplies for their leisurely hobby.
Michele said: "It was just too much travel for us and we thought 'this is madness, West Lothian needs a craft centre,' because we knew there were other people like us.
"So we did some market research, got a business plan together, took a leap of faith and threw ourselves headlong into it.
"It is a leisure business and a lot of other craft retailers folded during the recession as people only do it when they can afford to.
"Thankfully we have managed to get through the recession thanks to the loyalty of our customers. The average spend is now half of what it used to be but crafters will travel from other areas."
Just Create also runs craft classes for jewellery and card making and scrapbooking as well as children's classes.
