TWO mums from Westbury have been nominated for the “Mumpreneur UK Awards” in association with Amazon; a national award scheme for parents who run their own enterprise.
Ria Painter-Coates and Claire Harris have both been nominated for the award for juggling parenthood with merchandising.
Ria runs online store Ooh Pretty, through which she designs and makes personalized clothing and gifts for all the family. She launched the business in 2006, but fully committed to it in 2011 as a way to stay at home with her son, Dexter. Ria has been nominated for an award in the “Wired” category, which recognises online businesses that have consumer-friendly websites with good products, and who can prove that getting online is a great investment for any business.
Ria said, “I was very excited to hear about the nomination, it’s nice to know someone thinks enough of my business to make the effort!
“I’ve been working hard over the past four years to grow the business to where it is today. I’m looking forward to hearing the results, but even if I don’t get through I’m happy to have been given the opportunity and exposure.”
Claire Harris, mother of two, has been nominated for her bespoke jewellery business, Beautiful Nice. Beautiful Nice creates and sells personalised keepsake jewellery, framed prints, and engraved items. The business was launched in 2012 and Claire hopes it will soon provide a way for her to stay home with her young children.
Claire has been nominated for the “Boost” and “Engage” categories. The Boost Award is open to businesses who defied the recession and can demonstrate high growth by having expanded their market, product range, and business size. The Engage Award recognises people whose business regards sustaining close relationships with clients as an integral part of the work they do. Claire said, “I’m really thrilled to have been nominated for the award. It was totally unexpected so I would like to thank whoever put me up for it! Beautiful Nice is a very small business which I run from home, so I’m honoured to have been praised like this. Now I’m just waiting to see what happens next!”
The two women will find out next month if they have made the finals, which will take place during November in Warwickshire.
More information about the mums’ businesses is available at www.oohpretty.co.uk and www.beautifulnice.co.uk, and you can go to www.mumpreneuruk.com to find out more about the awards.
