LILY BLANCHE SHORTLISTED FOR WOMEN’S ENTERPRISE SCOTLAND AWARD

The team at Stirling-based jewellery specialists Lily Blanche are celebrating after being shortlisted in the Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards 2024.

The firm, founded by Gillian Crawford, is in the running for the Growth Business of the Year Award after the judging panel reviewed and assessed an unprecedented number of entries.

Ms Crawford, the firm’s Managing Director, said: “We are thrilled to be nominated as Growth Business of the Year in the WES Awards – it’s a tremendous honour for our team.

“With year-on-year growth of 40%, the Lily Blanche team has been focused on scaling and the award is testament to the incredible work they have done.

“We’ve had fantastic support from the Scottish business community for our scale up journey and are looking forward to building on this success.

“We are also proud to be part of a community which champions women-led enterprises and are keen to celebrate with all the other finalists at the awards ceremony in October.”

Carolyn Currie, Chief Executive at Women’s Enterprise Scotland, said: “Our Awards recognise the considerable contribution women-led businesses make to Scotland’s economy.

“It is our opportunity to come together and celebrate success, as well as to provide visible role models for the women and girls who follow.

“Both the volume and the calibre of entries for the Awards were very high and the judging panel had a very challenging task to compile the list of finalists.

“We are now looking forward to a fantastic Awards evening in October when we will shine a spotlight on the diverse range of women-led businesses which are starting up and thriving across Scotland.”

Lily Blanche, an independent brand which creates award-winning jewellery, faces competition from four other firms for the Growth Business of the Year honour which is sponsored by Quick Block.

The winners of the WES Awards will be announced during a black-tie ceremony at the Voco Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday October 3.

The awards are being supported by HFL Holistic Financial Leadership, Business Gateway, Scottish Enterprise, N4 Partners LLP, the University of Glasgow, Muckle Media and Quick Block and the keynote speaker at this year’s event is Sheila Flavell CBE, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Board Director at FDM Group.

Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES) was established in 2011 as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company working to close the gender gap in enterprise participation.

Lily Blanche was named in honour of founder Gillian Crawford’s grandmother, the original Lily Blanche, who lived on the Hebridean Island of Skye and inspired her creativity. Many of the company’s stylish and unique designs are inspired by the pieces found in Lily’s jewellery box – from lockets to freshwater pearl necklaces.

For more information, visit the website: www.lilyblanche.com

Written by

Rachel Blackburn

Based in Stirling, Rachel specialises in working with small and medium-sized companies across Central Scotland to raise their profile through targeted media relations. She finds the newsworthy stories every business has to tell and delivers them to the right audience in a straightforward and cost-effective manner. Rachel worked as a newspaper reporter and in various roles, including feature writer, Los Angeles correspondent and Scottish News Editor, for wire service The Press Association before founding Blackburn Communications in 2012. She works on a one-to-one basis with clients getting to know their business and finding the best outlets to share their news with current and potential customers, staff and stakeholders. It is very much a personal and flexible service tailored to their needs and budget. Rachel, a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce, also offers bespoke writing services for firms including help with business awards application forms and copywriting for Blogs.