A Chesterfield entrepreneur has been presented with a ‘highly commended’ award at a ceremony which celebrates female business leaders.
Last month, local design agency Crush’s Founder and Creative Director, Natalie Burkinshaw, attended 2024’s prestigious Novi Awards, having been shortlisted as a finalist for Female Entrepreneur of the Year.
As an awards programme dedicated to ‘championing female business leaders who are breaking barriers across the business world’, being recognised by the Novi Awards has been especially significant for Natalie and the Crush team.
A female-owned and founded design agency, in an industry where 97% of creative directors are male, Crush has been working on branding, design and website projects for over two decades from their Chesterfield-based studio.
Having already been over the moon to have been shortlisted in the first place, Natalie came away from this year’s Novi Awards with a special prize of Highly Commended, just missing out on top spot.
The judges noted her 20 plus years of business leadership and innovation within the design sector as a significant achievement that they felt shouldn’t go unnoticed, along with her charitable activities outside of the workplace.
Since the beginning, Natalie has led Crush to be an agency that provides businesses – both local to Chesterfield and across the UK (and indeed globe) – with an honest and relationship-led approach to their creative projects. Whether it be a corporate brand development for engineering superpowers like Briggs of Burton and Ziemann Holvrieka, a website build for the famous Ministry of Sound, or even a pro-bono rebrand for The Clothing Bank charity, Crush dedicates itself to helping organisations thrive.
Natalie commented: “I am blown away with winning this accolade from Novi. The awards day was absolutely energising, an experience like no other for female business leaders. I had the privilege of meeting some awe-inspiring women who came from every walk of life. ”
Crush supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.