A South Lakeland businessman said he is "immensely proud" to have scooped a prestigious county-wide award.
Brendan Donnelly, 60, originally from Carlisle, took over Coniston Stonecraft in February 2020 and, overcoming immense obstacles, the company has now been named the In Cumbria Best New Business 2021.
Coniston Stonecraft as a company have existed since 1976, sited on the slopes of Coniston Old Man crafting locally quarried stone, Brendan saw his chance in early 2020.
"I sold a business in Staffordshire, and wanted involvement in my own county. I'd been keeping an eye on Coniston Stonecraft for a while with a view to buying it, and then it went into administration so I bought the intellectual property rights, name, assets and website.
"We had 19 or 20 days of trading before lockdown hit, and we are only still here because Tim Farron organised a loan from the banks to keep us alive."
Brendan explained that he doesn't personally create the bespoke homeware and kitchenware products that the company is know for, but brings vast experience to the table:
"My job has always been a salesman. The staff make the beautiful things - they tell me what they're making, and I'm very happy to sell it!
"Saying that, we're at the point now where we don't need to chase sales - we can pick and choose who we work with.
"Everything is handmade, so we can only produce five or six pieces a day, people understand when they come and see our workshop and 'shed-shop', which is essentially a storeroom with price labels on."
The business was nominated for the award by Furness College, who send two apprentices to Brendan to learn their craft for four days a week, and were visited by an assessor.
Brendan said: "He spent a two or three hours thoroughly watching the operations, and he could see that we weren't making it up!
"I'm just an ordinary, hard-working Cumbrian lad who in latter years has somehow fallen into running this wonderful business.
"If manufacturing hadn't gone down the pan, I'd probably still be working in a factory in Carlisle."
You can find more information and check out Coniston Stonecraft's products on www.conistonstonecrafts.co.uk
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