The Independent Awards 2021

A huge thank you to everyone who tuned in to join the Independent Awards 2021 LIVE on 9th December. An even bigger thank you to our incredible Finalists, Winners and Runners-up. It was an absolute thrill to not only recognise, honour and celebrate your talent and hard work, but also to give away £100,000 to help support small businesses. What a wonderful opportunity it was to come together as a community too, and raise a glass together to all we have collectively achieved.  

Thanks again to our sponsors Dell Technologies, NatWest and Royal Mail too for making this possible.

 

The 2021 Winners

Out of many thousands of Independent Award entries this year, below are the final Winners of the categories and People's Choice Awards. Each of them received £10,000 to help them develop and grow their business.

Unhidden

Business for Good Award

Unhidden

Hattie McGill Embroidery

Modern Crafter Award

Hattie McGill Embroidery

PRIOR SHOP

High Street Shop Award

PRIOR SHOP

The Basket Room

Female Founder Award

The Basket Room

Big Bakes Bakery

Small Business of the Year Award

Big Bakes Bakery

Glosters

People's Choice Award

Glosters

The 2021 Runners-Up

Out of many thousands of Independent Award entries this year, below are the final five Runners-up of the categories. Each of them received £5,000 to help them develop and grow their business.

Refuge Chocolate

Business for Good Award

Refuge Chocolate

MW Makes

Modern Crafter Award

MW Makes

Moo Like A Monkey

High Street Shop Award

Moo Like A Monkey

Muthahood

Female Founder Award

Muthahood

The Tartan Blanket Co.

Small Business of the Year Award

The Tartan Blanket Co.

Holly's 2021 Fairy Godmother Award Winners

Brand new this year, this Award was chosen by the Small Business Fairy Godmother herself to give a helping hand to the independents she feels will most benefit from an extra helping hand.

Sonshine Magazine

Holly's Fairy Godmother Award

Sonshine Magazine

The Kookie Kid

Holly's Fairy Godmother Award

The Kookie Kid

The Flock

Holly's Fairy Godmother Award

The Flock

Emma Giacalone Textiles

Holly's Fairy Godmother Award

Emma Giacalone Textiles

Meet the Judges

When searching for the very best independent small businesses, we knew we needed the very best judges; people who are passionate champions of creativity and experts in their respective areas - we're thrilled they have joined us to help choose the winners of the Independent Awards 2021.

Last year's Independent Awards

How lovely it is to look back on last year’s winners and see the difference their awards made. Whether it was using their cash prize to invest in some much-needed equipment or just the confidence it gave them to excel, we’re thrilled. 2020 was such a tough year for many small businesses, and we launched these awards to shine a light on the ginormous benefits this community brings. Voting is currently open for this year’s awards so we’re yet to find our 2021 Finalists, but if you’d like to see the rest of last year’s winners while you’re here…

Athena Cauley-Yu, Founder of Meticulous Ink

"Winning the People's Choice Award came as such a massive shock...Having that recognition for many years of work behind the scenes is such an enormous psychological boost. Add to that the incredible cash prize and my mind was completely blown!...I put a large chunk towards an enormous printing press that gives us more scope to do fun, experimental printing on a large scale. I am utterly grateful"

With thanks to our Award Supporters

These awards would not be possible without our incredible small business supporters who truly believe in the power of small.

Terms & Conditions and FAQS

You can read full terms and conditions for The Independent Awards 2021 here

All FAQs can be found here