FOUR Hampshire companies have been named among the 100 in the UK to be celebrated by Small Business Saturday.

They will be among those be given nationwide social media coverage on of the 100 days leading up to Small Business Saturday itself on December 3.

The four are Southampton-based Aura Landscapes, Devillefilm, a small film-making business from Winchester, Hythe’s Bear It In Mind, which specialises in collectable bear sales and children’s parties and workshops, and Natural Baby Shower, a Bagshot-based online retailer of eco, ethical and premium baby goods.

Paula Warman, who co-owns Aura Landscapes with her husband Mike, says: “It can get quite lonely running a small business and connecting with other business owners from other industries and sectors is always a great experience and enhances your own learning.

“Promoting landscaping as a viable business and career is also key, as so many people look down on trades and tradesmen. Being part of the Small Biz 100 will get us on the way to changing the face of landscaping and, hopefully, will show other women that they can be successful and recognised particularly in a male dominated industry.”

Devillefilm was started by Reece de Ville, after taking redundancy from the BBC. He now makes films for businesses of all sizes around the UK, for mailable video cards, live events, broadcasters as well as live tweeted vine and Instagram videos.

“I grew up watching terrible films and loved every minute of it,” explains Reece. “What it taught me was that regardless of budget, location, script and indeed cast, you can create memorable films that inspire and entertain. I want to pass on my own messages of positivity through the Small Biz 100, to show what you can achieve as just one person. We should all be proud of our businesses – however big or small.”

Julie Tatchell, founder of Bear It In Mind, said that all their suppliers are small business owners.

“We regularly purchase fabrics, threads and other bear-making components; our website is designed and maintained by a local man; our ‘pop-up’ clinics are held in venues which benefit from our visits, and when the need arises we also outsource to local home-workers.

We believe that Small Business Saturday makes lots of small businesses appear as one big one and, as part of the Small Biz 100, we will be standing and shouting from a bigger stage so people and other businesses will realise we are a serious professional company.”

The founder of Natural Baby Showerf ounder Victoria Hampson conceived the business when she was expecting her first child in New Zealand.

She was inspired by the natural approach to parenting she experienced there as well as the readily available natural, organic and ethical products.

After returning to the UK when her son, Dylan, was six weeks old, she found a gap in the market and launched Natural Baby Shower in 2007 from her kitchen table. The business is now growing and is now also stocking major pushchair and car seat brands.

struggled or been inspired and seen improvements or gaps in product design and use. They create small businesses like ours and embark on a journey that we are proud to support.”

This is the fourth year of the campaign, which last year saw £623m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday, an increase of £119m or 24 per cent on the previous year. The campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter on the day with more than 100,000 campaign-related tweets being sent.

“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,” said campaign director Michelle Ovens.