Amy McCusker, founder of WeeBox, Scotland’s global subscription box, has gathered an inspiring community of makers who supply gifts for her thriving business – and each month, she tells their story
FOUNDER of The Wee Book Company Susan Cohen and I met close to the beginning of both our journeys into the world of sharing Scottish joy! Undoubtedly, WeeBox and The Wee Book Company were the best fit as we both shared a passion for sharing Scottish positivity, humour and authentic traditions.
Susan recalls: “I first met Amy at a Trade Fair and it’s something I’ll never forget. She had a WeeBox tucked under her arm, she placed a Wee Book inside and we’ve been a fit ever since.”
Our Scottish traditions around this time of the year are more important than ever. As a country we come together to bring in the bells, sing Auld Lang Syne and before all of that, as my Granny taught me, make sure your house has been cleaned!
Traditions like ‘redding the house’, making sure your first foot is a tall, dark haired man to bring luck and, of course, brings a lump of coal are second nature to us, but how do you explain that to an international audience?
This was exactly my challenge with our global WeeBox Clan subscribers. I wanted to share the warm nostalgia, brilliant fun and humour that goes hand in hand with our Hogmanay traditions.
Not just the toast at midnight, but all the wee intricacies of how we celebrate that will strike a chord with anyone familiar ‘wi’ a guid Scottish Hogmanay!’
I needed help! So I approached Susan, the creative powerhouse behind The Wee Book Company.
There was nothing on the market that communicated our Hogmanay Hooley celebrations in the way I wanted to share with the world, so set Susan the challenge of creating a brand new book to do just that.
But first, a bit about Susan to help set the scene as to why she was the perfect choice.
“There has always been a great love of books and reading in our family” she says. “It seemed natural, after my first book was published, that the next step would be to set up our own publishing company.
“Sure enough, The Wee Book Company was set up in 2018 and we haven’t looked back since.”
“What’s closest to our hearts is the way in which we can use the Scots language and the setting of Scotland itself to convey messages of motivation, resilience and strength.
“It struck us tha many o’ thae self help books oot there were very serious, very po-faced, a bit pan loafy – so we set about writing uplifting, upbeat content which is embedded intae general humour.”
Susan is an academic sort of person who likes nothing better than sitting in a library cupboard for weeks, only venturing out for cups of coffee and doughnuts.
She was a lawyer for years and went back to University as a mature student to study English literature.
Since then, she forged a new career as a writer, a broadcaster and speaker. Often Susan’s speaking engagements are on cruise ships which sail round the Western Isles.
What has been really interesting about The Wee Book Company is how it has grown and evolved since it was established.
During lockdown, they launched a celebration of the Scots language on social media with ‘The Word o’ the Day’ and, as a reflection of those times, the word SITOOTERIE was the runaway winner.
Turns out we were all longing to just sit ‘oot’ and breathe fresh air!
Susan says: “Working with WeeBox has been a true delight. It has helped us reach an international audience and has really given us a sense of belonging to an international community. It’s very satisfying to feel that our messages are reaching out into the world.
“We have been lucky enough to have had follow-up orders from members o’ the WeeBox Clan over the years who have dropped us lines about how they have enjoyed reading books with their children and grandchildren.
“It’s something we’ve been told that WeeBox clan appreciate - a wee mindin o’ hame.”
www.theweebookcompany.com
■ WeeBox is the perfect gift for loved ones abroad. Gift today using code WeeBoxGift20 at weebox.co.uk/gifting for 20% off
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