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Thursday, 31 October 2019

Tees Businesswomen Awards 2019

This time last year I attended the first-ever Tees Businesswomen awards at Wynyard Hall as a guest of Teesside University & Professor Jane Turner. The event was a first for Teesside, to recognise women in the region and to bring more of a spotlight on businesswomen in the area and show what can be achieved. I remember it being such an inspiring evening, although I was nervous and had a feeling of ‘impostor syndrome’ as there were so many fantastic businesswomen in the room, I felt a little out of place. I’ve never come away from a single event with such motivation and drive to succeed.

The awards are a great way to celebrate women in Teesside but also to inspire the younger generation like myself to succeed in business. Flash-forward a year and I had officially made the shortlist in the category ‘Inspiring Others’. I’d found out about the shortlist nomination early October and it was an emotional day.

The business awards were always something I’d wanted in my 5-year plan, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. A few weeks before the event, I received an email with who I’d been shortlisted alongside, from that moment I’d won. I was in the shortlist with someone who is a phenomenal role model to women in the North East, that being Professor Jane Turner.

Thursday 24th October: The evening of Tees Businesswomen Awards

 WHAT IM WEARING || 
Dress: Quiz Clothing
Heels: Quiz Clothing 
Clutch: Quiz Clothing 
Makeup by Amber Jones makeup 
Hair: KOKO Couture
I was grateful to my parents & partner who attended the evening with me, it was great for some moral support and to share the experience, especially as they’ve been there such a great support network throughout my journey and I wouldn't be in the position I am, without them.

We arrived for welcome drinks at 6.30 pm and there was a real buzz in the room upon entering, everyone was enjoying a glass of prosecco and it was a great chance to network. We seated at 7 pm to enjoy the rest of the event from the main part of the grand marquee at Wynyard Hall. The event was in a different part of the Wynyard Hall from last due to the growing success & popularity of the event from around 250 attendees at last year’s event to over 440 a year later!

Entertainment was provided by the fantastic Amelia Coburn a nominee for BBC Radio 2 Young Folk award who sang two fantastic songs throughout the evening. The evening was presented by Charlie Charlton who is a North East broadcast journalist for BBC Radio.
 The Tees Businesswomen awards are a chance for everyone in the area to shout about successful female entrepreneurs, business owners, directors & managers that drive businesses in Teesside. 10 awards were given out throughout the ceremony including Businesswomen of the year, Lifelong inspiration award, Breaking the mould, Inspiring others, Best Newcomer, SME of the year, among others. 

Tees Businesswomen Awards 2019 Winners
I was honoured to be in the category ‘Inspiring Others’ where the shortlist nomination had come from my work that I’d been doing through my blog, being a young woman in business with my social digital consultancy 'Collab Media', my social media work and my second business ‘Women in Collaboration, which is a networking event for women in business across Teesside, which has been attended by over 500 women in its first year.
The winner of the ‘Inspiring Others’ award was Catherine Devereux in recognition of her work setting up children’s mental health charity, the Russ Devereux Headlight Project in her husband’s memory.
The surprise award “Outstanding contribution for inspirational leader” was handed to Professor Turner in recognition of her work to motivate and empower young women to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions

Ellie Rees x 
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Friday, 21 December 2018

LIFESTYLE || Lakeland Intu Christmas Collaboration


Hi Everyone, Last week I was invited along Intu Metro Centre to collaborate with Lakeland a store based in the mall. Lakeland kindly gifted me a £150 gift card to get some goodies from Lakeland’s Christmas collection. 

The Lakeland store is based in the Green mall next to Marks and Spencer’s. Lakeland is a chain of British kitchenware stores, but they don’t just sell kitchen appliances. They have a huge range of collections in the store, from Christmas Gifts, hampers to stocking fillers. They also have a range of drink mixers, cleaning products, as well as a range of home accessories.
I decided to make the most of the gift voucher and get some essentials for the kitchen as I’m moving into my own home hopefully in the next year, so it made sense to pick up an ‘adult’ buy. I went for Lakelands very own slow cooker which they do in family size or single, I of course when for single as I’m’ not the best cook at the best of times.

I couldn’t believe how many Christmas gift boxes and hampers Lakeland had, the lovely ladies in the store also gift-wrapped bundles of gifts if you wanted to make your own! I went for more food related gift boxes as they make perfect presents for your loved ones. 

There sweet treats selection would also make the perfect stocking fillers. I picked up: 
Of course I went in on the Alcohol Mixes selection and basically got one of everything! I even decided to try them out for myself as soon as I got in. I love the PopaBall brand and follow them on Instagram, so it was great to see such a wide range of their products in Lakeland! 
4 Champagne flutes  (Similar) 
I then went into the cleaning section as I’m definitely on the Mrs Hinch hype from Instagram, they have a lot of the brands that Mrs Hinch features on her Instagram so if you want your house gleaming for 2019, Lakeland is the place to be! 
Thank you again Lakeland for spoiling me this Christmas and Intu Metro Centre for the opportunity! Hope all my followers have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year! 
Ellie Rees x 
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Tuesday, 4 December 2018

EVENT | Intu Metro Centre Blogger Night #GiftGuide

Last week I was invited along to Intu Metro Centre in Gateshead for an exclusive blogger evening hosted by the Marketing team of the mall. Upon arrival, we were greeted with prosecco and a spread of Lebanese food from Fattoush Lounge which is a new restaurant in the Yellow Mall. It was great to catch up with bloggers from across the North East as well as meet some new faces, it’s always refreshing to meet like-minded girls that get the industry! 

Metro Centre had hired the Intu train for the night to give us a tour around the mall to showcase all the new stores that Metro has to offer. This was a unique way to get around the mall which as an adult I never thought I’d do ha! We were definitely catching everyone’s attention as it was late night shopping in the centre, so the place was pretty busy. It’s not every day you see 8 fully grown women riding around metro on a train! 
We started by visiting Hotel Chocolat who came out to the train with a goodie bag and ice-cream, I definitely felt like a celebrity at this point! The second stop was the Jack Wills pop up store which was full of Christmas gifts and the classic Jack Wills style hoodies. (permanent store will be opening in December).  The third shop was the G-STAR RAW store which recently opened and was full of a range of sustainable denim! We even got a G-STAR RAW goodie bag. The fourth stop on our tour was the Oxygen bar and Clarin's massage station where we were treated to a hand massage and an energy boost from flavoured oxygen, something I’ve now ticketed off my bucket list, I’ve seen them at festivals before but never had a chance to go on one. Fifth stop around the metro was a visit to the new Couture Club shop in the Red mall which has recently opened. It was great to see a store that was founded on Instagram, really shows the power of social media and the store itself was really impressive!  

The sixth and my favourite stop on the trip was the new Victoria Secret and PINK store which opened last month to the excitement of most girls across the North East! The store did not disappoint, the lovely ladies from VS also let us pick any bra from their collections to take home of course. I picked a gorgeous cream lace bra from the Fantasy collection
 The final stop on our tour was a trip to the newly moved QUIZ Clothing store where they kindly gifted us a £40 voucher to spend in store on the night. I picked out a black dotty jumpsuit which I’ll definitely be wearing for a Christmas party. 

Jumpsuit - Quiz Clothing 
 As well as all the stores we visited gifting us, we kindly received a very generous goodie bag from the lovely ladies at Intu Metro which was full of amazing gift ideas for Christmas. See below. 
Clarins Mini Gift - Clarins 
Yankee Candle Advent Calendar - Candle Essence
Pixi Gift Set - Marks & Spencers 
Couture T-shirt & Cap - The Couture Club
Prosecco Gummies - Lake Land UK
Jack Wills Socks & Mini Perfume - Jack Wills
Personalised Bodyshop Moisturiser - The Body Shop 
Personalised Nutella - Debenhams 
Fantasy Collection VS Bra - Victoria Secret 
VS Bag and makeup bag - Victoria Secret 

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Thursday, 12 October 2017

FASHION || The Aviator Jacket Takes Off

Primark highstreet aviator jacket
 Hey Everyone, 
Aviator jackets are essential this Autumn / Winter. So, for this week’s blog, I decided to dedicate it to my new fashion favourites from my favourite high street store - Primark!
I've seen a lot of Aviator jackets online & in stores this season which has all been relatively affordable compared to the designer ones. Most have been under £100, I nearly bought one from River Island that was £90 but when I spotted this near enough identical jacket for a fraction of the price I had to have it. Can you believe this jacket was only £30! 
A black mock-leather aviator jacket with a faux-fur collar, it straddles the boundary between low-key and statement piece nicely. Best of all, it’s pretty much guaranteed not to go out of style for a good while yet. Shearling and leather jackets and faux-fur collars have been popping up everywhere.
WHAT I"M WEARING || 
Jacket - Primark (Similar) 
Red Boots - Primark 
Jeans - New Look
Earrings - eBay 

FASHION || The Aviator Jacket
FASHION || The Aviator Jacket Takes Off featuring Primark highstreet aviator jacket and red boots.
I paired this outfit with my bold red statement boots also from Primark for £14! I loved them so much I decided to buy them in black, think they'll be the only boots I wear this season. 

Ellie Rees x 

Primark red heeled boots


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Thursday, 5 October 2017

FASHION || Autumn Wardrobe - Red Obsession

Hi Everyone, 
It's finally Autumn & I couldn't be happier, this is by far my favourite season of the year. I love to wrap up warm and get cosy. I've put away all my summer clothes away for the year & got out my Winter wardrobe. My A/W17 wardrobe is mainly made up of chunky knits, turtlenecks and faux leather jackets. 


I've decided this year I want to ditch the all-black outfits, which I seemed to wear all of last year & replace my wardrobe essentials with some brighter pieces. 
This weeks collaboration is with LilyLuLu Fashion which is a brand I found through Instagram. I picked a few pieces off their website & this jumper has got to be my favourite as well as the boldest jumper I've ever owned. 

This jumper is in the Bardot frill style but can also be worn as a turtleneck style which then makes the jumper slightly cropped.  I'm a little obsessed with red at the moment hence the matching red earrings but I have seen on Instagram that this style jumper does come in different colours if the red is a little too bold or not your colour. 
WHAT IM WEARING 
Jumper - LilyLuLu 
Jeans - Matalan 
Wedges - Primark 
Hair Extensions - KoKo Couture 
Bag - Gucci 
Earrings - eBay 

Ellie Rees x 
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