Shropshire-based watercolour artist and entrepreneur Meg Hawkins has won Best Creative Business at the Enterprise Vision Awards (EVAS), marking another exciting milestone for the independent family business she started from her kitchen table.
The award rounded off an inspiring couple of days in Blackpool, beginning with the SheChain event at the Winter Gardens, where Meg and her daughter Coral spent the day surrounded by entrepreneurs, business leaders and speakers sharing their experiences of building and growing businesses.
“The whole couple of days were about being surrounded by people who understand what it takes to build something of your own,” said Meg.
“Life and business don’t always smell of roses, and sometimes you need to put yourself in a room full of people with that energy. I went to the EVAS wanting to be inspired. I genuinely didn’t expect to win!”
When entering the awards, nominees were asked which song they would choose to walk up to if they won. Meg chose Andy Grammer’s ‘Don’t Give Up on Me’.
“The song said it all. Building a creative business takes resilience. There are plenty of moments when you wonder what on earth you’re doing, but you keep going, keep creating and surround yourself with good people. Then occasionally you get a moment like this and think,wow, look how far we’ve come.”
Meg started her business in 2014 with her original watercolour paintings, initially turning them into cards and prints. Today, her artwork sits at the heart of the Meg Hawkins Home & Lifestyle brand, with products and designs reaching customers across the UK and internationally.
But for Meg, the award belongs to more than one person. “I’m the artist, but they’re my team. My husband Ade and our daughter Coral are a huge part of the business, alongside our wider team and family.
"One thing that really stood out over those two days was that behind every entrepreneur there are people supporting them, encouraging them and reminding them that they’ve got this.”
Meg entered the awards partly to help bring greater recognition to artists building businesses around their creativity.
“Being creative is one thing. Turning that creativity into a sustainable business is another challenge altogether. If winning this encourages another artist or small business owner to keep going, then that means a lot.”
Meg thanked Coral Horn and the Enterprise Vision Awards team, Helen Taylor for sponsoring the Best Creative Business category and Rosie Dummer for presenting the awards.
The Enterprise Vision Awards (EVAS) are the UK’s largest celebration of women in business, recognising female entrepreneurs and business leaders across a wide range of industries. Founded by Coral Horn in 2011, the awards celebrate not only business growth, but creativity, innovation, impact and ambition.
The evening even included a cheeky photo with Karen Millen OBE - another highlight of a memorable couple of days. With new collections, collaborations and further growth ahead for the Meg Hawkins brand, the team are already looking towards what comes next.
Pictured: from left, Meg Hawkins with her husband Ade and daughter Coral
