A St Albans businesswoman visited Westminster to champion small enterprises and encourage shopping at independents.
Deryane Tadd, of The Dressing Room on High Street, went to a Champagne reception at the House Of Lords’ Cholmondeley Room as an ambassador of Small Business Saturday.
The event was held on December 12 and hosted by Susan Garden, Baroness Garden of Frognal.
Keynote speakers included representatives from American Express and the Federation of Small Businesses.
The Dressing Room has supported Small Business Saturday since the campaign launched six years ago.
Deryane said: “It was really good. I think the message is important because it is about changing people’s shopping habits.
“If you shop with small businesses you are making a real difference to the team and the high street, and unless you shop with small businesses, they won’t survive - I think people forget that.
“It is a good reminder to get out to the high street because if you don’t, they won’t be there.”
Small Business Saturday is a national campaign to encourage customers to ‘shop local’ and support independents in their communities.
It takes place on the first Saturday in December each year, which for 2018 fell on December 1, but the campaign aims to make a lasting impact all year round.
The event was held on the same day as the vote of no confidence in Prime Minster Theresa May over ongoing Brexit controversies.
Deryane said: “Obviously the day that I went was the vote of no confidence in Theresa May so it was a very buzzy day.
“There were press everywhere and a lot of security and protests, there was a lot of energy about the place.”
She added: “It was good to be a part of [the event] and to push out about small businesses because it is a really key message.”
The Dressing Room has been trading in St Albans for more than 13 years.
Small Business Saturday’s big blue bus visited St Albans on November 27 as part of a national tour, which started in Blackburn on October 25 and ended in London on November 28.
For more information about Small Business Saturday, visit www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com
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