Posted: 13th April 2016
Five ladies have each won a unique fleece jacket after their daughters wrote about what they meant to them.
I decided to offer the Hugget jackets, which are designed and made in the Peak District, as a prize to celebrate Mother’s Day.
I started my business at my parent’s home in Derbyshire three years ago after people expressed interest to buy a unique design of fleece jacket that I had made for myself. I began by making all the jackets myself at home, but two years ago teamed up with a local factory in Staffordshire to have them professionally made.
We had 39 nominations to our competition and it was extremely difficult to select just five out of so many fabulous mums, and many tears have been shed by us while reading the touching stories. The winning nominations each stood out to us as a mum who shone in being a worthy mother, a caring person and someone deserving a treat.
The winning mums were Ruth Lowe, who lives near Alstonefield; Nancy Mackman of Ashbourne; Jacqueline Banks, of Leek; Vicky Smith of Leek; and Sandra Bald of Milton Keynes.
Jacqueline’s daughter, Angela Hoptroff, wrote: “She not only looks after my dad who has leukaemia as well as volunteering for St John Ambulance, and Street Pastors on Friday evenings, but also looked after me after a recent operation despite being nearly 72. I am very proud of her and I love her very much.”
Nancy’s daughter, Debbie Swan, wrote: “This is her ‘retirement’ from a job that involved caring for others, a Marie Curie Nurse specialising in caring for those who wished to die at home in the comfort of family and their own surroundings, while running a child bereavement group for children who have lost family to cancer.
“I have been left in tears in shops while surviving family members see my mum out and come up to thank her for helping them in their darkest hour, a job I could never do.”
Vicky’s 12-year-old daughter Isabella wrote: “Last year, she completed a full nursing degree, usually done over three years, in only a year, and passed with honours. While writing a heap of essays she lost one stone, battled constant back pain, and brought up me and my younger brother, aged seven, who has Spina Bifida.”
Ruth’s two daughters, Hannah Will and Naomi Shaw, wrote: “‘She really is a wonderful mum, role model, inspiration and rock. She has done so much for us as a family, working tirelessly on the farm so that we can have every opportunity. It’s only now that we see the sacrifices she and my father made when we were young.”
The judging panel, Katie Lane, Carrie Osborne, Tom Wheatley and Toby Gaddum were so touched by the nominations that we also awarded seven runners-up who each received a Hugget discount voucher and a certificate.
I decided to run a competition after being inspired by her own mother. My mother, Carrie Osborne, was a major inspiration in setting up my business. She gave me the most wonderful childhood, took me all over the world to experience different cultures and countries and supported me in everything I did. She has been a huge support and encouragement to me while I have set up and grown my own business. I quite honestly could not have done it without her. So to all of you wonderful rural business women who are also wonderful mothers, thank you for all the hard work, I assure you it is appreciated.
Hugget jackets can be purchased from my website www.hugget.co.uk and I offer a 15% discount to WiRE members – simply type WIRE into the promo code box at the checkout.
