A Clapton bakery has earned itself a spot in the limelight as part of this year’s Small Biz 100.
Hackney’s Maid of Gingerbread has been chosen as part of a national campaign to spotlight one small and community-driven business every day in the 100 days leading up to Small Business Saturday UK.
Taking place on December 5, Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign which celebrates small business success on social media and encourages consumers to shop local.
READ MORE: Arts Collective hopes people shop local during coronavirus lockdownMaid of Gingerbread, which was showcased on September 24, specialises in making Willy-Wonka-style biscuit designs, producing projects with the likes of Channel 4, The British Museum and Fortnum and Mason by making reconstructions of famous venues for events, launches and TV.
This includes a recreation of Somerset House south wing as a gift for the London Fashion Council.
Now with a lack of big events during the coronavirus pandemic, there are less large projects coming up this year.
Head of Maid of Gingerbread, Emily Garland, 47, is hoping there will be more of a pick-up towards Christmas to put her business in a good position as she prepares to enter the busiest time of the year.
“We’re hoping that getting the community together on December 5 and having all these promotions of our businesses, more people will know about us and we can have a successful December,” she told the Gazette.
She added: “It has been really great to connect with all the other small businesses going through the same thing. I work on my own and it has been such a stressful time, so it has been amazing to have all of this support.”
Emily left her full-time office job as an administrator 10 years ago.
“I am really proud of what I have achieved, I’m glad that I’m getting some recognition,” she said.
Emily stressed that “shopping with small businesses could really make the difference between someone’s livelihood surviving or going under”.
“This year it’s so important that people spend their money with small local businesses, otherwise there might not be these creative institutes anymore,” she added.
Find out more about Small Business Saturday and how to get involved at https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/
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