Ogilvies of Haddington designs and builds high-quality, handmade furniture, kitchens, wine cellars and cafe/shop cabinetry. Founded in 2013 by Ewan Ogilvie, the cabinet making business produces bespoke furniture from a workshop in East Lothian serving customers across Scotland and beyond. We caught up with Ewan to discuss his experiences with .scot as a local business owner.

What made you choose .scot, and why was having a Scottish domain important for your business?

Ogilvies of Haddington is proud to be Scottish, constructing furniture from Scottish timbers wherever possible and sourcing materials locally. I have found that buyers of our handmade furniture are often very interested in where their furniture has been made, the provenance of the timber and they sometimes like to meet the cabinet makers involved. With the vast majority of my customers in Scotland, I was keen to make our Scottish location clear to prospective customers and the .scot domain is a big part of this.

How did you find out about .scot?

I heard about the new .scot domains in a news article prior to the launch date and made a note to register one when they became available.

Do you think it helps establish the cultural identity of your business?

Without a doubt. The Scottish furniture making industry has been hard hit by globalisation and of course the ever increasing percentage of our income that is tied up in property and land. For me this is a non-sensical backward step in terms of the impact that it has on the environment and local economy. Heavy, low-quality goods and materials are being transported across thousands of miles only to be disposed of in landfill in a few years, when both the raw materials and the skills to make high-quality and long lasting furniture are available right here in Scotland. Having a .scot domain identifies us as Scottish and helps to emphasis that we still have a Scottish furniture making industry. Customers can feel good about buying local and doing their bit for the environment and economy. And perhaps most importantly, it makes me feel good too!

Did you find the transition from .co.uk/.com to .scot easy?

Yes, I manage my own website and it was a doddle to do. I have retained my old .com and co.uk domains temporarily with forwarding to the .scot domain, but will stop these soon as my business cards and letterheads have now been updated.

You can find Ogilvies of Haddington on Facebook, Instagram and on their website.