Entrepreneur chosen as one of 12 to attend Downing Street Festive Showcase

AN entrepreneur was chosen as one of 12 small businesses to showcase their wares at a Christmas market on Downing Street.

Susan Bonnar, from Lee-on-the-Solent runs The British Craft house – an online department store for handmade gifts and art.

She was hand-picked as one of just 12 businesses from across the UK to host her own stall at the Downing Street Festive Showcase on November 30.

Susan invited sellers from The British Craft House to donate handmade items to be showcased on the day and received products from more than 200 makers.

She said: ‘It was an honour to be invited along to showcase the amazing businesses that The British Craft House is home to. I was lucky enough to meet the Prime Minister and his wife as well as Jeremy Hunt.’

Susan then raffled off the donated products to raise money for a children’s charity to try and help others this Christmas.

Susan said: ‘Although I run the platform, I don’t actually make or sell any products myself, which is why I needed the sellers to send items so they could show off their amazing talents. I was overwhelmed at how many people were willing to donate things for nothing in return and were more than happy with the proceeds going to charity.

‘With Action for Children, a small donation can make a big difference. With the amount we have raised we can help a lot of families and children which is important all year, but especially at a time like Christmas.’

There were 10 prize bundles up for grabs worth more than £2,000 combined and the winners were announced on Sunday, December 10.

The raffle raised almost £3,000 for Action for Children.

Susan said: ‘Hopefully the prizes will have made some people very happy this Christmas. Not only are they gifting from a small, independent business but they’re supporting a charity while doing so – a win-win!’

Susan was also invited along to the House of Lords during the same week to celebrate 10 years of Small Business Saturday as one of the 10 Small Business Heroes and a previous winner of the Small Business Saturday 100.

She said: ‘It was quite surreal to have been invited to come along to the market. It was a bit of a whirlwind week with a lot of pinch-me moments. Usually, I’d just be doing everyday things like doing the school run or the weekly food shop – it felt like a week of parallels to my normal life.’

For more information on The British Craft House, go to www.thebritishcrafthouse.co.uk.