Published: Thursday, 22nd July, 2010 9:22am

An award-winning career carved out

by Bryan Copland

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IN TOUGH economic times, getting your business to work is all about going the extra mile.

One Haddington entrepreneur did exactly that - in an effort to get his furniture-making venture off the ground.

Stuart Page, of Meadowpark, applied in 2008 to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and was awarded £6,000 to fund a trip to the USA and Canada.

He completed the journey that summer - driving up the west coast and down the east coast of North America.

Along the way, he met 32 furniture makers - all experts in their field. He gathered experience, knowledge and advice while getting his own business, Stuart Page Furniture, off the ground.

FURNITURE-maker Stuart with his silver medallion he received from Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, for becoming a Churchill Fellow

He now runs the business from a workshop at West Bearford Farm, just outside Haddington.

The trust grants thousands of pounds each year to applicants to fund overseas trips - enabling them to acquire knowledge for the benefit of themselves, their professions, and their communities.

Stuart, 30, recently returned from a prestigious ceremony in London's Guildhall where he and 90 other recipients of the trust's grants were made Churchill Fellows.

He received a solid silver medallion from Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in honour of his journey.

Stuart, who studied furniture design and manufacture at Adam Smith College in Kirkcaldy, Fife, told the Courier that he never expected to be accepted onto the fellowship scheme.

"It was pie in the sky," he admitted.

"I had no expectation that I would be successful.

"I had three rounds of paper applications that I did and then an interview in London, and that was when I started to get nervous.

"The trust's offices were in Kensington, on a very wealthy street, and I was interviewed by a lord, a lady and a former major general.

"These people have done more in their lives than most people can ever dream of, but they all had that common touch, and were really interested in what I was doing.

"The ceremony this summer was extraordinary. I don't come from a poor background, but it was aristocratic on a scale I'd never experienced before.

"It was incredible to be in that place and to be surrounded by these amazing people. For me, the most amazing thing was to be able to hear about the other Fellows."

Among those honoured was a woman who led the first all-female expedition to the South Pole, and a man who travelled the length of the River Congo - from source to sea - in a canoe.

Stuart added: "The people I met on my trip were incredibly generous with there information and advice. I think it takes quite a long time for that to filter through and I keep rediscovering what people said to me, day by day."