University News Last updated 11 September
A BCU graduate has returned to the city 15 years after completing her degree to collect a national Rising Star award from Not on the High Street, presented by entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den investor Sara Davies MBE.
Ella Broughton studied Textile Design at what was then known as Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BIAD), graduating in 2011. Now the founder of Cheshire-based creative gift brand Let’s Make & Do, Ella returned to Birmingham on 4th September to collect the Rising Star award at the 2026 Not On The High Street Small Brand Awards.
Let’s Make & Do was launched just over a year ago and has since grown to around 150 independent retail stockists across the UK and around the world, alongside its presence on Not On The High Street and its own online store.
Let’s Make & Do was selected from more than 5,000 Not On The High Street partners to be among just 30 nominees across the Small Brand Awards, before taking home the Rising Star award at a ceremony at The Bond in Digbeth, a creative hub in one of Birmingham’s best-known former industrial areas.
For Ella, returning to Birmingham to receive the award made the occasion particularly special, bringing her back to the city where she studied and began building the creative foundations of her career.
After graduating, Ella joined Habitat as a Buying Assistant in its textiles department in London, beginning a career in buying and product development that would take her around the world working with manufacturers and artisan makers.
“After I graduated and joined the Habitat Buying team, it was brilliant to see how much of what I’d learnt and experimented with during my degree could actually be applied to a real product and a real job, particularly my knowledge of fabric construction and design. At the same time, I was learning how products worked commercially and getting my first experience of retail buying.”
Ella went on to work with well-known British retailers including Fenwick, Paperchase and Oliver Bonas amongst others, developing products across a wide range of categories and working with manufacturers and artisan makers around the world.
That experience now feeds directly into Let’s Make & Do, where Ella develops design-led, giftable craft kits for children and adults, bringing together her creative and commercial experience.
“I’ve spent a huge part of my career looking at products from a buyer’s perspective – what makes something stand out, what makes it genuinely useful and, ultimately, what makes people want it.” says Ella.
“Founding Let’s Make & Do has given me the opportunity to take everything I learned from that side of the industry and put it into my own products. Winning Not On The High Street’s Rising Star Award feels like a huge validation of what we’re building.”
The brand’s kits are designed to make creative activities easy and enjoyable, with everything needed included alongside illustrated instructions and QR-code video tutorials.
“I really wanted the whole experience to feel completely seamless. There’s nothing worse than opening a kit and then having to hunt around the house for a paintbrush that wasn’t included, or trying to find the right tutorial video. Everything is there, and the videos are detailed enough that you can just get on with making. We’ve even designed them so that if you want to use the kits for something like a 'crafternoon' or a birthday party activity, the tutorial can effectively be your host.”
The business has also continued to invest in its own production capabilities, packaging and studio as it scales, while expanding its network of independent retailers and developing new products.
As part of the Rising Star award, Ella will receive a six-month mentoring programme with Sara Davies MBE.
“Having Sara present the award was a real highlight,” says Ella. “She’s a real business force, with an incredible amount of experience and success behind her and she’s also such a strong champion of working with and supporting small brands.”
“To have that first-hand experience to draw on as we move into this next stage of growth is a huge opportunity and I’m really excited about it.”
For Ella, the award is a particularly satisfying moment given the role Birmingham played in the beginning of her career.
“It was so special to be back in Birmingham and to see how the creative foundations I built here have ultimately led to this,” she says. “I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come, and having the opportunity to celebrate that back in the city where I studied makes it even more meaningful.”