NEWLY SOURCED – SCOTTISH SMALL BUSINESS COLLABORATION
Diving Gannets 3D Pop Up for all children aboard the famous Noss Boat for the 2024 season.
We are delighted to have sourced and are now both selling via our online shop and giving for FREE to every child aboard our boat this year, a Pop Up DIVING GANNETS eco-card. Pop up cards are quick to make, easy to assemble, need no glue and all have pop out parts to make them 3D. Pop up cards are designed and made in Scotland by precision laser cutting. They are made from a sustainable and recyclable poplar plywood.
The cards come with a C6 coloured envelope, a C6 cellophane wrap and a paper insert with a picture of a completed model on it. This wooden card measures at L 140 x W 95 x T 3 mms and weighs 19 gms. This card can be posted for the same price as a normal letter in the UK.
THE STORY BEHIND THEM
These diving gannets are one of many pop up designs made by Andy Cox who started a small business in 2012 in order to raise funds to support two children a year (or more) through compassion UK. This charity gives long term support to children in some of the world’s poorest places. This goal was achieved for two years by selling a range of products that were made in Gordonstoun School, Moray, Scotland mainly for the Christmas Gift market. (Andy had been Head of Design there for 15 years and Fiona was in charge of Careers and Cooking.)
In the Summer of 2015 Andy and Fiona left teaching to concentrate on the business. They set up as a partnership, built a workshop and now have several Laser cutters making pop up designs. They went full time into wood gift designing, making and packing in 2016. After selling 80 000 cards last year, in 2019 they hope to sell many thousands of products and raise many thousands of pounds for good causes. They have started the funding of a workshop through compassionUK (one of the top 10 British charities), providing tools, materials and teachers to help 30 boys and girls in Kenya to get a vocational education in one of the most poorest areas of the country and of our world. This year they are hoping to sponsor a project in Tanzania for a vocational workshop for wood and cooking. In 2018 they started working with adopt-a-child as well helping with child sponsorship projects in Guatemala and Albania. in 2019 they had the wonderful opportunity to visit one of the projects we help support in Guatemala. In 2021 they moved south of Edinburgh to a bigger workshop, to be closer to their children and new Grandchild. Post covid they are still hoping to give away £8000 to £20 000 a year to the two main charities we support adopt-a-child and compassion UK.
The Noss Boat is delighted to support this business by giving every child passenger (under 16) aboard The Noss Boat a free diving gannet pop up gift as part of our spectacular Noss Boat wildlife experience for the 2024 season. This is a unique and original design we have sourced and a fabulous new asset to our ever expanding boat tour business here on Shetland.