Happy News to Start 2026

We're so pleased to be kicking off 2026 with some great news, namely that Jan has made it on to the f:Entrepreneur list of the UK’s 100 most inspiring female entrepreneurs.

The campaign celebrates 100 exceptional women across the UK who are driving innovation, growth, and positive impact in their communities, while running successful businesses.

Once again, our small business - and a high street shop no less - is being recognised for being innovative, inclusive and supporting our community, but it's also recognition of Jan as an individual.

The year is going to be filled with events and activities and we hope that it will raise the profile of not only our business, but also of our community. First, there are emails and press releases to send off, hopefully leading to interviews, podcasts, newspaper articles and who knows what else?

To celebrate International Women's day at the end of March, Jan will be at an event in London... it means rescheduling one of our planned classes, but hopefully everyone will understand.

We've been pondering our success with getting The Snail of Happiness recognised nationally and we think that it's the result of our unusual approach to building a business - our foundation is sustainable practice. Although we are not perfect, we strive to make our business as environmentally sensitive as possible, not just "greenwashing" over the issues! Plus we do a lot of education along the way - obvious (like teaching making and mending skills) and subtle (like talking about choosing pre-loved over new or using natural fibres rather than plastics like acrylic).

We hope that we'll see you in the shop or online soon to join in with our celebrations of this achievement.

Look out for #IAlso100 on social media to keep up with what's going on, and take a look at the f:Entrepreneur website to see the full list of women selected.