An Edinburgh-based Hungarian jewellery designer and shop has been named among the 100 small businesses in the UK to be celebrated by Small Business Saturday, the campaign that culminates in the UK’s dedicated day for small businesses on 3 December 2016.
Nora Geszvein’s business, Red Panda Jewellery, works mainly with copper, which, she says, is
perfect for creating jewels with a natural, rustic look. In Hungary, she studied in art, goldsmith and enamel craft schools and has worked as a jeweller for more than decade. Now, she has turned her hobby into a full-time business, which will be among the select number of companies to be featured by the Small Business Saturday campaign one per day for the 100 days leading up to Small Business Saturday itself.
“I always had a full-time job separate to my jewellery but have decided to focus on it full-time. With Red Panda Jewellery I found what I exactly want to do,” explains Nora.
“Scotland is a great place to start a business like this. People enjoy handcrafted items and this country, with its beautiful lands and wonderful people, is always great as an inspiration.”
Small Business Saturday is already the UK’s most successful small business campaign. This is the fourth year of the campaign, which last year saw £623m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday, an increase of £119m or 24 per cent on the previous year.
The campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter on the day with more than 100,000 campaign-related tweets being sent. Over 75% of local councils supported the campaign, giving considerable national reach into local communities.
The campaign is a great nationwide promotional and marketing tool for small businesses. It is totally free to participate and any small businesses can get involved – from one-man-bands, through to a high growth office, and from tradesmen to social media gurus. In addition to the big day, the campaign also delivers help and advice alongside opportunities to connect with other small businesses. In short, Small Business Saturday exists to support, inspire and promote small businesses.
“The British public has a great affection for small businesses and we continue to see that grow year on year. Small Business Saturday is an exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK,” explains Campaign Director Michelle Ovens.
“Although the campaign focuses on one day, the goal is to have a lasting impact on small businesses by changing mind-sets, so that people make it their mission to support small businesses all year round. Most people in this country own a small business, work for a small business or know somebody who does, so supporting a small business on Small
Business Saturday is absolutely personal.”
