Independent Awards 2022

Mature-preneur Award

This award was won by Spice Kitchen who received a cash prize of £10,000, and the Runner-Up was The Edible Museum who received £5,000.

As a reminder, this award recognises and celebrates the staggering contribution that mature-preneur founders are making to the UK. So this category is for those who have put their decades of experience, resilience and wisdom to good use; those who are shining a light for future generations to follow and doing it their way.

 

The Winner

The Edible Museum

The Edible Museum was created when founder Sarah pivoted her career in sculpture towards food. The result is a magical confectionery shop full of realistic animals, fossils, and anatomy — all hand crafted from quality chocolate — to be gifted and shared worldwide.

Meet the nominees

Each of these independent businesses was selected for being outstanding in this category.

KCHossack Pottery

Karin at KCHossack Pottery creates handmade table and serveware in styles that aim to enhance the experience of the discerning diner. The collection has been built on a core design of varied scalloped edges and a distinguished colour palette.

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Shortlisted stamp

Marigold and Lettice

Creating handmade chunky white china (with the odd bit of colour now and again), Marigold and Lettice pottery is packed with character, heaped with texture and perfectly imperfect. Crafted at the kitchen table by founder and maker Bronwen, it is made to be loved and used.

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Shortlisted stamp

Spice Kitchen

Spice Kitchen is a mother and son led artisan spice and gift business, originally set up as a retirement project. Founders Shashi and Sanjay donate 1% of their profits each year to The Akshaya Patra Foundation in India, a charity that helps provide free meals to schoolchildren.

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Shortlisted stamp

Twisted Twee

Suzi from Twisted Twee makes kickass clothes for ‘ageing crones and codgers’. She aims to celebrate and elevate all that is derogatory and dismissive about fabulous, unencumbered, creative and irrepressible older people.

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Shortlisted stamp

Dandy Star

Dandy Star’s message is strident, upbeat and sometimes questioning, but always delivered with colour. With a retro feel, founder Charlotte’s designs can be found on everything from clothing and homeware, to stationery — each with words and images in playful colour combinations.

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Fierceblooms

Founder Kathryn inherited a passion from her late grandfather — a love of flowers — that inspired her to leave her role in corporate science to plant a canalside garden. She now creates wild floral arrangements and runs classes that promote sustainable floristry.

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Poetry Pharmacy

Founder Deborah’s Victorian shop dispenses ‘poetry on prescription’ and houses books displayed by mood. With an emphasis on promoting good mental health, Poetry Phamacy is a creative centre for writing workshops, book launches and open mics.

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Quirky Chocolate

Founder Sandra’s first big break with Quirky Chocolate was through their much-loved chocolate sprouts. Since then, they have harnessed resilience and reinvented the business through illustrator collaborations and a successful tartan range to create an iconic Scottish brand.

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The Thoughtful Potter

Deborah creates artisan pottery from her eco-friendly studio, inspired by her love of nature and the Somerset countryside where she grew up. Picking treasures from her garden and hedgerows, she presses them into clay alongside uplifting words to create unique, heirloom pieces to treasure forever.

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