How we've helped Above The Coast

A love for the Cornish coast and a desire to find a creative outlet is what inspired James Brindley to start Above The Coast. The business uses aerial photography work – captured masterfully by James – and prints these across a range of products, such as mugs and water bottles.  

“I’ve always loved photography, and after getting my Civil Aviation Authority licence I was taking a lot of aerial images. One day, I caught three surfers on the beach as the tide was coming in, a one-off photograph, and I thought why not set up my own business doing this full-time,” he said.

Already working in the commercial media space, James and his partner Samantha started the business in January 2020 and are looking to take things to the next level. Enter the Skills Hub, who the couple met while attending Truro and Penwith College’s Green Shoots sustainability conference in October.

“We’ve done very little marketing as yet, and that is the one thing that we certainly know a little bit about, but we find ourselves wanting to go a little bit further,” Samantha said.

Undergoing a Skills Review, the pair now feel better informed, and on the road to having Above The Coast reach new heights.

“When you’re involved in a business you need a third party to look at what you’re doing, as they help in getting you out of your comfort zone. You need to look at your business through somebody else’s eyes and coming to the Skills Hub has allowed us to do exactly that.

“Our experience thus far has been amazing. We’ve had some great suggestions and we’ve got a direction of travel for us now in terms of what we should be doing with the business,” Samantha said.

With short-term planning focused on marketing and increasing their online sales, the couple have bigger plans for the future, including the idea of taking the business on the road.

“More sales through the door is priority one for us, but longer term we want to travel with the business. Above The Coast could be above the coast anywhere, not just Cornwall, and the hope is that we’ve got a business that will allow us to travel,” Samantha said.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Skills Hub from October 2017 - June 2023 was part funded by the European Social Fund and match funded by Cornwall Council and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership. The project  received £2,885,993 of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.