Harrogate firm wins top Yorkshire award

A small but glamorous Harrogate company which achieves big things has won the Best Micro Business accolade at the Brand Yorkshire Awards.
Harrogate success story - Glawning directors, James and Sarah Martin celebrate winning an award at the Brand Yorkshire Awards.Harrogate success story - Glawning directors, James and Sarah Martin celebrate winning an award at the Brand Yorkshire Awards.
Harrogate success story - Glawning directors, James and Sarah Martin celebrate winning an award at the Brand Yorkshire Awards.

Held at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate, the ceremony recognised Yorkshire businesses for excellence in several categories such as Innovation, Best Small Business, Hospitality, Property and Construction and more.

Glawning directors, James and Sarah Martin, a Harrogate husband and wife team who scooped Best Micro Business of the Year, said: "We are ecstatic to have won this award because we are a micro business through and through, with only three members of staff running the entire company – being such a small business any accolade like this means the world!

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"We are very proud of what we have achieved in carving out our very own niche in the market for the glamorous canvas campervan awning now well known as ‘the glawning’."

The couple were first inspired to set up their business in 2013 by a camping trip they enjoyed at How Stean Gorge.

Sales have escalated quickly since then, going from strength to strength largely on the basis of customer referrals and a strong social media presence.

The firm is also behind the successful Glampfest held annually near Ripon.

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In the near future, James and Sarah Martin said: "We have plans in the pipeline to spread the Glawning love. We are making our luxury awning accessible to a wider range of leisure vehicles and also going global.

"We are arranging distribution centres in America, organising attendance at campervan shows in Europe and bringing out new glamping products to break new markets.

"We continue to host our fun family festival Glampfest near Ripon to raise money for a different local charity each year and bring everyone together for a shared appreciation of the great outdoors, camping and Yorkshire.

"All of this is hard work for a team of three but worth it.

"For us, being able to exit the rat race and earn a living from doing what we love – glamping - is a dream come true."

Details of the annual charity glamping festival can be found at www.glampfest.com