Recognition for Fife wedding designer who led UK effort to make scrubs for NHS workers
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Mirka Jankowska, whose shop is based in the town’s Commercial Street, has been revealed as a runner-up in the Small Business Blast Off Competition, run by Gumtree.
Mirka Bridal Couture and another Scottish business, Messy Nessy Playcentre Ltd in Thurso, were both awarded the runners-up prizes in the competition taking away a £5000 cash prize each, plus a small business boost package.
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Hide AdThe competition launched earlier this year to celebrate the many entrepreneurs and SME owners that transformed their businesses in order to survive the restrictions of lockdown and the impact of the pandemic throughout 2020 and into 2021.
Early last year, Mirka and her daughter Maja, galvanised their community to make scrubs during the national PPE shortage of the first pandemic by creating a social media group called 'NHS Scotland - For The Love of Scrubs', where over 400 volunteers came together to create over 15,000 sets of scrubs which were sent out to hospitals all over Scotland.
Mirka, who is originally from Poland, and her team of volunteers from across Scotland made thousands of scrubs for NHS workers across the country as the coronavirus crisis took hold.
The town wedding designer normally used her materials to design bespoke bridal gowns, but last year she instead made sure that nurses, doctors and other frontline health staff had the sanitary clothing they needed during the first few months of the pandemic.
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Hide AdHer shop became a hub to support the national effort which involved 400 volunteers across Scotland who volunteered their skills in order to make the much-needed medical scrubs for the NHS.
At one stage, NHS Scotland - For The Love of Scrubs, had over 9000 requests for scrubs from hospitals and from other healthcare sector staff.
Mirka, who is originally from Poland, said she was delighted with the accolade.
She said: “I am so happy - we entered not expecting to win, actually one of my friends, a fellow business woman recommended we try it. It has been such a needed boost to the business after lockdown, and to be recognised in a UK wide competition is just incredible.”