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The Ship of Adventures bookshop in London's Hackney has been named in Small Business Saturday UK’s "Small Biz 100" for 2016, a campaign promoting and supporting small businesses on the high street.
As part of the campaign, the celebrated bookshop, also a giftshop, cafe and events space, has been chosen to feature as one of a select number of companies to be highlighted for a day during the 100 days leading up to "Small Business Saturday" itself on 3rd December 2016.
The bookshop is run by Hackney-based education charity The Hackney Pirates. The charity was set up by teachers in 2011 to develop literacy, confidence and perseverance of young people in the area, with all the shop's profits going back into supporting its educational workshops.
Laura Marney, who looks after The Hackney Pirates’ business operations, said: “The more people we get into our shop and cafe, the more money we can raise, the more volunteers we can recruit, and the more young people we can work with.
“It's really important to us that we support our local community as they support us and the young people we work with. Where possible we work with local suppliers, artists and designers. Around 90% of our suppliers are small businesses based in London, and the majority of those are from Hackney.”
Grassroots, not-for-profit campaign Small Business Saturday is now in its fourth year of encouraging consumers to "shop small". Last year it was supported by over 75% of local councils and saw £623m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday: an increase of 24% on the previous year. Its aim is to act as a nationwide promotional and marketing tool and to "support, inspire and promote" small businesses.
Campaign director Michelle Ovens said: “The British public has a great affection for small businesses and we continue to see that grow year on year. Small Business Saturday is an exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK.
“Although the campaign focuses on one day, the goal is to have a lasting impact on small businesses by changing mind-sets, so that people make it their mission to support small businesses all year round. Most people in this country own a small business, work for a small business or know somebody who does, so supporting a small business on Small Business Saturday is absolutely personal.”
Logos, digital banners, a social media guide and toolkits are available to download from the website for small businesses to get involved.