A FORMER Scotland international is transforming old whisky barrels for clients including Outlander actor Sam Heughan and former Scotland rugby captain Greig Laidlaw.
Freddie Main, a former design and technology teacher for more than 20 years, switched paths to set up his own business, Oak & Black.
The Boggs Holdings-based company specialises in creating bespoke mini bars from the old barrels.
Each hand-picked barrel comes from a cooperage and is transformed to create a mini bar with a full middle shelf, smart lighting system, a built-in magnetic bottle opener, a hand-stamped personalised metal tag and unique barrel number to trace it back to its origins.
Freddie, 41, said: “Creating barrel bars for clients is a dream come true for me – it is something I’ve wanted to do for years but didn’t have the time or energy.
“Lockdown gave me that time to make my first one and really assess whether it was a viable business model or not and I’m delighted that it’s definitely going in the right direction, especially securing orders for people like Sam Heughan, [ex-rugby internationalist] Jim Hamilton and Cask88, and taking on my first member of staff, which have given me a real boost.
“I’m looking forward to sharing my story about going from an employee to being a self-employed business owner and following my dreams at the next Love Your Business networking event – it’s a journey I love sharing and hope it inspires people to do something they are passionate about and that makes them feel happy.”
Other products made from reclaimed materials include bottle racks, engraved barrel end wall hangers, whisky boards for drams, gin blocks and bespoke products, including signs, tables and coasters for a new coffee company owned by former Scotland international Jim Hamilton, and whisky barrel display planters for restaurants.
Before launching the company, Freddie, who has always had a passion for woodwork, was assistant headmaster and design and technology teacher at Edinburgh’s Merchiston Castle School and also part of the Scotland touch senior mixed World Cup team.
Following the tournament in Malaysia in 2019, he contracted an illness that led to post viral fatigue, which he continues to manage.
During lockdown last year, a period when his energy was beginning to improve having been signed off work since January 2020, he decided to create a whisky barrel bar for a friend. Due to the positive feedback and orders which followed, Freddie decided to leave teaching and focus on his dream to make products from reclaimed wood and give them a new lease of life, which has allowed him to manage his own time and energy more effectively day-to-day.
Tickets to the Love Your Business event today (Thursday) are available at bit.ly/3xHm8U1
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