This year at ARRAN Sense of Scotland we are celebrating our 35 year anniversary and this International Women's Day we wanted to introduce you to some of our employees who are also celebrating some big anniversaries with us! Sarah Meet Sarah! Sarah recently celebrated 25 years working at ARRAN and has been with us through lots of change to the company. She started at Arran Aromatics in 1998 as Line Operative, working across our many production lines before becoming Manager of our packing lines. Between 2005 and 2008, Sarah took on the challenge of traveling daily from Arran to our warehouse on the mainland to set up and run production lines which allowed our company to grow. From 2009, Sarah returned to our Arran factory and become Production Manager where to this day she manages the production schedule, factory area and workload, keeping all our products in stock and ready for customers to try! "One of my favourite products is the After the Rain 100g Saddle Soap. I was here when this was first sent into the world, it reminds me of my journey here and all the years in between." Monika Meet Monika! Monika moved from Hungary to New Jersey and has now lived in Scotland for 18 years with her husband and her lovely daughter. In her free time, Monika loves spending quality time with her family whether that's traveling, baking or their Sunday night board games! You can often find Monika crafting, creating new pieces for her home and garden, when she's not out paddle boarding. "I started as a temporary worker in 2006 as a member on staff on the Packing Line, preparing and packing products and in 2007 I became a full-time employee. In 2018 I became Web Supervisor where I picked, packed, and dispatched high-volume orders, consistently exceeding warehouse performance targets and shortly after I was awarded with Employee of the Month. When the sales increased majorly on the website, there was an organisational change where The Web has moved to another location and this resulted in me filling Eau de Toilettes and helping the Packing Line from Monday to Thursday, leaving Friday to support the Sales, Marketing and Customer Service Team, sending out samples to hotels, influencers, stores and journalists." Monika will be celebrating 17 years with ARRAN later this year and we're so grateful for all the hard work she puts in! Hazel Meet Hazel! Hazel is one of the friendly faces you'll meet if you visit us at our shop in Arran, always at hand to help you find your new favourite scents. "I started working with Arran Aromatics on 22nd March 1999, just in time for Easter! Back then most places closed down in the winter on Arran and we actually closed Sundays and Mondays. Our peak season began at Easter and it was the busiest time of the year with visitors, where people came from all over the country. Now the Island is busy all year round thanks to hotels giving special deals in winter." This month, Hazel celebrates 25 years at ARRAN, she's been with us throughout many changes including lots of old favourite ranges such as Lili, Waterbabe and Laurel. Be sure to say hello to Hazel when you visit our shop in Brodick! Claire Meet Claire! Claire started working for ARRAN back in 2001 in our shop on the Island, alongside her mum Hazel, when home during University holidays. After a few seasons, Claire moved from Retail Assistant to working within our factory, helping to manufacture all our products then moved to our Web Dispatch team. After a couple years, Claire decided to travel and moved to New Zealand where she met her partner, Duncan. Upon their return, Claire was appointed Quality Assurance Manager, conducting quality checks on products, testing new products and packaging, and overseeing our mainland warehouse teams, a role she has excelled in for nearly 15 years. Claire will be celebrating 15 years of continuous service with ARRAN next month! "My favourite product is anything from the Kildonan collection, I love this new refreshing & sweet scent, and I also have a love for Kildonan on the south side of Arran after living there for a few of years as it boasts one of the many amazing views you can see around the coasts of Arran."
