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Lancaster artist presents Dragons' Den star with special Morecambe gift as she receives award

Lidia Ranns receives her award from Theo Paphitis and presents him with a tea towel of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe

A Lancaster artist presented a star of TV show Dragons' Den with a special gift from Morecambe as she received a prestigious award.

Lidia Ranns received a Small Business Sunday award from businessman Theo Paphitis, famed as a formidable 'Dragon' on the hit BBC programme.

When meeting Theo at a ceremony in Birmingham, Lidia decided to give him one of her illustrated tea towels showing off the iconic Midland Hotel in Morecambe, to give the town a plug.

And she said the TV retail entrepreneur loved it so much, he wants to visit!

"I’m sure we’d give him a warm welcome in Morecambe!" said Lidia.

Lidia works from a home-based studio in the corner of her dining room.

The tea towels are made from her illustrations, mainly of local scenes and how she imagines them in a bygone era. Lidia also creates unique framed prints of her work, which have featured Morecambe Winter Gardens, the old Odeon Cinema in the town, Skerton Bridge in Lancaster and many other local landmarks.

Mr Paphitis hosts the annual Small Business Sunday event at ICC Birmingham, to bring together some of the brightest and best of UK small business owners.

The event was also attended by TV personality Stacey Solomon, who gave a talk.

Lidia was also a finalist in the Lancashire Artist of the Year 2023 and was also one of the team at the popular Meet the Makers shop in Marketgate, Lancaster.

Read more: Sadness as popular Lancaster shop selling handmade gifts set to close - Beyond Radio

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