An early Christmas present for Young Businesswoman of the Year

North East businesswoman and Northumbria University graduate Jules Quinn has reason to celebrate this festive season after scooping an award for her business skills and helping launch a government campaign to promote small businesses.

Jules the owner of successful design-led tea company The TeaShed,was awarded the Young Businesswoman of the Year award at the Forward Ladies’ Women in Business Awards for Yorkshire and the North East. Forward Ladies aim to encourage the growth of women in business, providing support to women from all sectors and stages of professional life.

She was also chosen to help launch the government’s Business is GREAT campaign. The initiative,run by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and UKTIaims to celebrate and inspire small businesses. In the build up to Christmas, a giant advent calendar is making its way around the UK featuring 24 diverse and innovative small businesses. The TeaShed was chosen to feature behind door number one and Jules opened it at a launch event at Northumbria’s City Campus.

With the support of Northumbria’s Student and Graduate Enterprise team, Jules set up The TeaShed whilst she was studying an undergraduate degree in Fashion Marketing. The University recently launched an Enterprise and Innovation Fund which aims to create and support more entrepreneurial student and graduate businesses.

“Northumbria has a fantastic Student and Graduate Enterprise Scheme who continue to provide me with ongoing support and advice,” she said.

“The Enterprise and Innovation Fund shows the University’s commitment to helping start-ups.It really is one of the best universities to come to if you want to start your own business.”

The two most recent accolades come at the end of an already outstanding year for Jules, with The TeaShed going from strength to strength over the past 12 months.

“I’ve had a really amazing year,” she reflects. “We’ve launched an outlet at Northumbria and a new range of bursting juice balls called ‘PopaBall’. We also visited the BBC Good Food Show in London and Birmingham and sold out almost straight away. I’m so excited about what we have lined up for the New Year!”

To find out more about Northumbria’s Student and Graduate Enterprise Scheme, go towww.northumbria.ac.uk/sgenterprise or email nu.enterprise@northumbria.ac.uk

For more information on The TeaShed and new Popaball range, go to www.the-teashed.co.uk/