A Watford businesswoman has been commended and won an award for her ceramic design business.

Victoria Mae, who runs her business from her studio in Garston, has won Enterprise Nation’s Funding101 competition, a national small business competition that offers start-up funding.

Ms Mae entered the competition so she would be able to buy stock for the expected increase in demand after magazines such as Living Etc and Country Home and Interiors feature her designs in forthcoming issues.

Ms Mae said: “Enterprise Nation is hugely supportive of small businesses in the UK, and I am thrilled to be a winner of their Funding101 competition. Most small businesses don’t need lots of funding to get off the ground, and the funding I have won from Enterprise Nation will go a long way towards helping my design business grow.

"I was also really pleased and flattered by how much support I received during the competition – Watford Mayor Dorothy Thornhill even voted for me.”

In addition to selling her ceramics online, Ms Mae has partnered with the Hertfordshire Craft Collective, who stock a range of her designs in their Battler’s Green boutique.

Emma Jones, Enterprise Nation founder, added: “We launched Fund101 to help businesses just like Victoria's. She put in a great submission and then went to work on courting the public vote after being shortlisted to five finalists. I hope the money helps Victoria take her business to the next level and that she will remain part of the Enterprise Nation community, helping others who dream of following in her footsteps.”