The Wild Wood Brothers specialise in making bespoke items out of — you guessed it — pieces of wild wood found near their home in Perthshire.
From solar car ports to a commissioned green house, the brothers see potential in just about any piece of timber they can find.
Based in one of the old Nissen huts at Cultybraggan Camp, Comrie, Woody and Hamish have watched their passion become their profession.
They talk us through their business journey, which stemmed from the smallest of seeds into an ever-growing tree of enterprise.
How and why did you start in business?
We started nearly 10 years ago. My brother Woody (Alistair) had always been interested in woodworking and was based in Islay doing various projects from a small garage workshop. I had been working in sales in Dundee but I wasn’t enjoying it, so quit my job and went to help him out. The business grew from there.
How did you get to where you are today?
Through hard work, practice and trial and error. Woody had the woodworking experience and artistic flair to allow us to take on projects and I had some experience related to business due to the previous sales job.
Combining these allowed us to get up and running and bring in some business. Woody made a few connections that allowed us to source local timber and set up a bigger workshop in the Comrie area. The locally sourced timber became a unique selling point for us.
Who has helped you along the way?
We have had help from family, friends and customers who have been very supportive and helped us massively. A couple of individuals who have become have been key to what we have created.
One of them continues to teach us so much in all things wood-related. The other mentors us on the business side. We are and continue to be very lucky that way.
We’ve also had lots of marketing help from Perthshire Artisans – part of GrowBiz – which I would recommend to any designers/artists or craftspeople.
What was your biggest mistake?
Probably not looking to recruit sooner. Since bringing others onboard, we have been able to take on bigger projects and do more work. It really was a game changer for us in terms of what we could achieve.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
I’d like to think the skills we’ve learned are and will continue to be our greatest achievements.
But, in terms of what we have created I would need to say it’s the huge tree house entertaining space that we built for a private client. The end result was totally awesome.
How has the cost of living crisis impacted your business?
Certain materials that we use have gone up in price and overheads have also gone up which has put a squeeze on things. The fact that we source a lot of our timber locally has really helped in this regard.
What do you hope to achieve in the future?
I’d like to see our business continue to be successful and grow a bit more into something that is sustainable. I would love to see us utilising more local resources and become a well known name locally.
Do you want to recruit in the future?
We have a few people who work for us part time. It has been a massive help but it’s not without its own challenges and responsibilities. I can see us in the future with a few more staff. I think it adds to the business tremendously.
What is the hardest thing about running your own business?
Plenty of things! I’m not sure any one thing is harder than the other. Managing cash flow is crucial, as well as pricing work correctly.
Any advice to wannabe entrepreneurs?
Find something that makes you want to get up in the morning and that you feel excited about. Also, understand that your time is your most valuable asset. You need to work out wat it is worth. I’d also say switching off from work can be a challenge. You tend to live and breathe your business so it can be tough to know when to take a break.
