A young artist and her partner who converted a disused outbuilding on the island of Skye into a gallery café have won the top prize at the annual Moffat Travel and Tourism Awards.
Date:
Wed, 01 Jun 2011
Source:
PSYBT
PSYBT:
Website
Elly Knight (31), co-founder of The Red Roof Café Gallery, won the Moffat Award for best Scottish tourism business with outstanding economic and community impact, and a £1500 cash prize.
The awards were launched in July 2007 by The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT), thanks to generous support from The Moffat Charitable Trust.
Originally from St Andrews, Ms Knight and her partner, Craig, moved to the Hebrides in 2007 where she resumed her work as a full-time artist specialising in people, as well as land and seascapes in collages, oils, lino printing and textile sculptures.
They decided to convert an old outbuilding on their land in Glendale into a gallery café, and have spent the last two years doing all the restoration work themselves, learning everything there is to know about joinery, carpentry and stone masonry in the process.
Thanks to funding from the PSYBT, Elly and Craig have transformed the building - which boasts a distinctive red roof and quirky, cosy interiors - into a lively art space and café.
All the baking is done on the premises and the couple try to source all their produce locally wherever possible.
In the evenings they offer set-menu supper parties featuring live music by local musicians, including themselves on guitar, fiddle and vocals.
PSYBT chief executive, Mark Strudwick, said: "Thanks to the Moffat Charitable Trust we are able to support young people and help create a culture of entrepreneurship and enterprise in our tourism industry."
Speaking on behalf of The Moffat Charitable Trust, Jamie Moffat said: "These young entrepreneurs have harnessed their ambitions and grasped every opportunity presented to them. They are a credit to the tourism industry in Scotland."
The Red Roof Café Gallery.
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