Opt-in membership is available to businesses that either exist out-with the catchment area of Nairn BID, or whose property’s rateable value lies below the £1000 threshold, but still wish to support the BID and receive most of the benefits that members do. As Nairn BID exists for the improvement of Nairn as a whole then supporting the BID can be a valuable way of saying to your customers that you as a business are contributing to making Nairn a better place.
Opt-in members receive the same benefits as other members, they just don’t have the voting rights that levy area businesses do when it comes to the renewal ballot for the BID. For the five year business plan which outlines the main areas of spending and objectives of Nairn BID, please click here.
They can apply for free stalls at our events and markets, benefit from free marketing and promotion (website listing, social media sharing and member of the month), and attend our meetings, business workshops and networking events.
Nairn BID organises street markets along the High Street several times a year. The BID also runs Taste of Nairn, Wheels of Nairn and the Countdown to Christmas events.
If you think your business would benefit by being part of the BID and you would like to join, please fill in our application form. You can also send us a photograph and listing wording for the VisitNairn website.
Opt-in membership starts from £125 a year. Membership runs for our financial year from 1st October to 30th September. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch – office@nairnconnects.com
Member of the Month
Loch Ness Furniture
January 2024
If you’ve ever wondered about the background of the hugely successful Loch Ness Furniture, based at Househill Courtyard, this is your chance to find out. We spoke to Stuart Skinner about his great business which supplies so many lovely things to people all over the Highlands…
The business was started in 2014 but really jumped up a notch in 2016 as Stuart explained: “We started off from the first retail space in Inverness which added a small reupholstery area through the back. The opportunity to move to an industrial unit at Dalcross followed. From here the business has grown and gone from strength to strength. Once we had established the reupholstery side of the business, we decided to go into retail, and had our first retail shop on the Brae, High Street in Nairn. Then the opportunity to relocate to a larger premises at Househill Courtyard came along which proved a great springboard for growth, and it was here we took over the operation of Househill Floors.”
Stuart added: “Last November, we rolled our two shops together into one fantastic, newly renovated space where you can find all our stunning, high quality, value for money, handmade sofas and chairs, cabinet furniture, small interior items, accessories and lamps. You can also find our ever-popular range of moving gear clocks, artwork, as well as our great value carpets, wood and hard floors, vinyls, curtains, blinds, paints, and fabrics all under one roof!”
In 2022, the workshop space was also upgraded to a large, new unit at Balmakeith Industrial Estate where the team of four perform their magic transforming old furniture into like-new items for customers all over the Highlands, Moray and Skye.
In total, the business currently employs 10 people directly alongside some sub-contractors. On a busy day with all staff working, there can be 16 people working across the board either in the shops, out fitting floors, fitting/hanging and manufacturing curtains and blinds.
Speaking of their ethos, Stuart said: “We believe in offering the best and highest quality products at the best prices, creating great value for money for our customers in all that we do. We are super proud to offer something unique. For example, our new, made-to-order sofas and chairs in the quality we produce is simply not available in the larger stores who focus on selling products from mass production factories. Our items are handcrafted from start to finish by an individual upholsterer with great attention to detail. This allows us to stand out from the crowd and give our customers items of furniture made to last.”
He added: “I have been working in the company since 2016 becoming a partner with my brother Daryn who had initially started the business in 2014 with our dad. Both of us take a hands on approach to working and running the business daily with Daryn heading up our upholstery workshop and me taking on the bulk of the flooring estimating and measuring work, as well as keeping in constant touch with our great team who work in the furniture shop. It’s a very full on and fast paced environment we work in and certainly keeps us busy and out of trouble.”
Speaking about the Member of the Month, Stuart said: “We want to let people in the area know what’s on their doorstep and all that we offer, following the opening of the new space. We are in the process of launching a loyalty program for our new and returning customers which will give them access to ongoing discounts across the board from carpets and flooring to furniture, curtains, blinds and all our interior accessories. Substantial savings will be available and it’s a really good way for us to keep our customers interested and in return give them something back for their loyalty.
“We are always changing and adding new sofa and chair designs to the shop, new models, and colours etc keep the place fresh and interesting. We have just added a variety of new carpet, wool ranges, sisals, and seagrass ranges and some fantastic new value wood and click LVT options which can all be supplied and fitted or supply only. There are also some amazing new lines of Click LVT stock due in early February, at only £23 per m2, for the quality it’s a superb value for money deal.”
Runners
“Off the loom stair runners are now also available to sit alongside our offering of Roger Oates, both of which we will have the unique and only supply and fit service North of the central belt, with these products we cover anywhere north of Perth down past Aberdeen and up all the way to John O’Groats, we even have some Roger Oates fitted up in Durness.
“We recently added a carpet whipping machine and a rug binder to the range of tools in our upholstery workshop so we can now turn carpet offcuts and leftovers into rugs with our whipper and we can also bind and tape our own rugs and stair runners all in house with a unique and stand out range of edging tapes.”
Furniture future
“Our future plans are to keep pushing forward and developing new ranges, to continue to build and increase our returning customer base through our loyalty scheme and continue to offer our customers everything they need for their homes, all from one local family owner-operated shop.
“Nairn is a great central base for us to cover all directions of the country, and Househill Courtyard is a great place to be with the draw of the lovely food on offer, free parking and some unique shopping. It’s a fantastic environment. The courtyard gets a great number of regulars year-round and in the summer months with the tourists the place is really bouncing all day, every day, which in turn really helps drive footfall through our shop. In a business sense the cost of space rental is more manageable in Nairn as opposed to Inverness and I really can’t see us looking to move anywhere else in the future, as everything we need is right where we are.
“We really appreciate being able to be part of Nairn BID so we can contribute to all the work they do to make Nairn as a town a better place to live and work and support the tourist trade with listings on the VisitNairn website.”
Find out more about Loch Ness Furniture here. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram or call them on 01667 708487.
