STARTING today we introduce the six contenders for the coveted title of Glasgow's Favourite Business - voted for by you, readers of the Evening Times.

The accolade, part of the Glasgow Business Awards 2014, staged by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Bank of Scotland, has been won by many illustrious names in the past. On Friday, once we've profiled all six, we'll let you know how to vote. RUSSELL LEADBETTER reports

IT opened a decade before the outbreak of the First World War. One hundred and ten years later, the King's Theatre is still with us, still doing what it has always done - bringing some of the biggest names in showbiz and some of the biggest stars to Glasgow.

From Sir Laurence Olivier and Katharine Hepburn to such stage hits as Wicked and West Side Story, the Bath Street venue is a compendium of theatre history.

"We did a project last year to look back at people who had appeared here," says general manager James Haworth.

"There are some incredible names - Olivier, Sean Connery, Frank Finlay, Dirk Bogarde, Michael Caine. And that's just a fraction of them."

Asked why the King's should be so popular, James responds: "It has always presented a wide range of attractions.

"I don't think it's immodest of me to suggest that the King's is the home of Glasgow panto.

"For so many people, panto is their first exposure to live entertainment.

"You get a lot of extended families coming to our panto. It's the one show all year that appeals to all age-groups.

"When you get nostalgic about these things, you probably remember all those times when you saw the King's panto with your mum and dad and grandparents.

"It's a bond that established itself at a young age. There's also the fact that we have been able to bring so many great shows to Glasgow."

James used to run the Edinburgh Playhouse and he was delighted that it was the King's, and not the Playhouse, that attracted the Scottish premiere of Wicked recently. Its four-week-long run was a complete sell-out.

"We've got a lot of blockbusters on their way, too," he added. "We've got The Bodyguard, and Shrek, both coming here in the New Year.

"Rock of Ages is here next month. Dirty Dancing is coming back again - that was our previous big sell-out prior to Wicked. It's a packed diary.

"I'd like to think that people might occasionally take a punt on a big show at the King's," he added, "because we operate a quality control.

"It's a guarantee that what you are going to get in this theatre is decent entertainment."

And, of course, there's the 50th anniversary panto this Christmas.

Peter Pan is this year's choice, starring Greg McHugh, Gavin Mitchell, Des Clarke and Scott Fletcher.

For an institution that is now in its second century, the King's is keeping itself busy.

l On the web: www.atgtickets.com/glasgow

IF it's good enough for Emma Thompson, it's good enough for everyone else.

'It' in this case is the range of quirky Scottish gifts devised by Gillian Kyle, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art.

As Gillian observed in her online blog recently, Emma took a break from filming with Robert Carlyle in Glasgow to buy a supply of Gillian's items from one of her suppliers - Boxwood, in Byres Road.

People in France, New Zealand and Japan have cottoned on to the products, too.

Gillian, 36, and her team - Katherine and Jen - make high-quality gifts and homeware celebrating Scottish icons as diverse as Tunnock's Tea Cakes and Andy Murray.

"I started in 2009, just after I graduated from art school," she said.

"I design and we produce items with a strong Scottish theme.

"All of our main range has so far been about celebrating Scottish and Glaswegian heritage and culture - foods and icons and brands that we have all known and loved.

"I wanted to celebrate all the kinds of things that people in this part of the world have taken to their hearts."

International Scottish icons do not come much bigger than Andy Murray, whose face adorns one of Gillian's mugs.

"Andy actually signed six of the mugs, and we ran a competition during Wimbledon to give them away," she says.

"It's nice that he and his mum Judy like what we do."

The Murray mug is part of Gillian's 'Local Heroes and Villains' range of mugs, coasters and tea-towels.

Alongside the tennis star are such illustrious names as Rabbie Burns, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alexander Graham Bell and Edinburgh grave-robbers Burke and Hare.

The illustrations in this range are the work of Clare Forrest, a young illustrator.

Other Kyle ranges celebrate such offbeat subjects as Creamola Foam, fish and chips, and Tunnock's Tea Cakes and Caramel Wafers.

The last two ranges, which have the approval of Boyd Tunnock, cover everything from lampshades and tea-towels to cushions, notebooks, aprons, mugs and canvas towels.

"We have our own website, which is growing all the time," Gillian adds, "but we also sell through gift shops, boutiques, visitor centres, museums and cultural attractions, as well as in John Lewis stores, and in Liberty of London.

"We've got 20 stockists in Japan, a couple of in South Korea.

"We are really trying to export our vision of Scottishness throughout the world.

"Winning the Favourite Business award would be massive for us, because we are a Glasgow business. My whole ethos is to celebrate this lovely part of the world I come from."

l On the web: www.gilliankyle.com