BEST NEW ENTREPRENEUR
SPONSORED BY
FINALIST
JOANNA WILSON ( THE BROWN BOX )
Andrea Clarke , business development director for category sponsors Enterprise Made Simple , presents the Best New Entrepreneur award to Sarah Thompson of TOM-O .
WINNER
SARAH THOMPSON ( TOM-O )
One person guaranteed to be wearing a unique outfit at the awards ceremony was Sarah Thompson .
After losing her job with River Island in London during the pandemic , Sarah returned home to North Yorkshire to launch her own sustainable fashion brand – and it ’ s gone from strength to strength .
From a little studio in Moorsholm , she creates fashionable , eco-friendly clothing which has built up a huge online following – and has even been sold in the Selfridges store on London ’ s Oxford Street .
Sarah said she was “ amazed ” to win the Best New Entrepreneur title and explained the ethos behind her sustainable fashion brand , TOM-O .
She said : “ I take people ’ s unwanted fabrics and garments they no longer want , then I patchwork it all together and make new garments out of it . It ’ s saving stuff from landfill and showing people how their unwanted stuff can be made into new things .
“ I started doing it in my mum ’ s living room and I just thought , ‘ I don ’ t want to go back into the industry – I want to carry on doing what I love ’.
“ If you have something in your wardrobe that you don ’ t want any more , it can be upcycled and changed into something you can wear .
“ We don ’ t have to throw stuff away and we don ’ t have to throw things into landfill – there is so much potential in the clothes you don ’ t want . And , of course , everything is unique , so that ’ s another winner !”
SPONSOR MESSAGE
“ When it came time to sponsor New Entrepreneur of the Year , we jumped at the chance . It ’ s what we do , working with people just like us , who are brave , foolish , hardworking and inspirational . Why wouldn ’ t we support them ? The best thing we can do in the Tees Valley is support , promote and help these risk-takers , because they enrich all of our lives , our region and our future . This is personified by the entrepreneurs nominated in our category , and none more so than the winner , Sarah Thompson . Sarah is inspirational , having had to change her life due to the pandemic and move from London back to her hometown to start and establish her business .” Phil Teasdale , CEO at Enterprise Made Simple
Former head teacher Joanna worked in education for 16 years . Wanting to make a lifestyle and career change along with a positive contribution to her local area and environment , she began researching opportunities and gaps within her local town of Loftus in January 2021 .
Three months later she ’ d opened an online gift shop specialising in self-care and wellbeing products . Joanna now balances her family life , mental health and wellbeing while confidently planning her next route to market her business .
She is currently in the process of purchasing a property in order to make the step from online to physical shop .
FINALIST
KARLA EDWARDS ( THE PROTECTION PARENT , EDWAYS ESTATES , MONEY MAKING MOTHERS )
Having become a mother at a young age , Karla has worked tirelessly to ensure her three children aren ’ t an excuse but the driving force behind her motivation for success .
In the last 18 months , she has opened a buy-to-let company , Edways Estates , launched the Protection Parent insurance business – achieving a £ 250,000 turnover within the first six months – and began the Money Making Mothers podcast , which fell within the top five per cent of podcasts in the world with its audience growth .
Running your own business takes hard work , determination , passion , ambition , organisation and drive – attributes Karla has in abundance .
96 | Tees Business