New Preston Event Brings Together Leading Female Founders and Creatives

Culture, Community and Commerce in the City is a new event series created to bring together founders, creatives, freelancers and business leaders across Lancashire. Each event will have a panel of experts sharing their successes and discussing how the region can grow with purpose, creativity and community at it’s core. Through honest conversation, shared learning and meaningful connection, the series aims to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of the region and spotlight the people shaping its future.

The inaugural event is taking place at co-working space Society1 in Preston on 20th May 2026. Culture, Community & Commerce in the City aims to be a space to engage with the local, thriving business and cultural scene, all while sharing insights, forming partnerships or simply expanding your local network. 

The event series is being curated and hosted by Helen Brady, a Freelance Event Manager. When asked about the origins of the event, Helen said:

“One of the best things about running events is getting to meet so many interesting people doing so many fascinating things. I wanted to create a platform to share some of those brilliant stories. It’s about spotlighting understated powerhouses in the region; the quietly formidable that aren’t always shouting about their successes, but just consistently getting on with delivering brilliant things.

The inaugural event will feature three standout speakers:

Amy Cheadle, CoFounder, The Northern Dough Co, who will share the brand’s journey from it’s Lancashire beginnings to securing national supermarket listings and welcoming Ant & Dec as coowners.

Lynsey Thompson, Managing Director, WASH Studio, offering insight into creative leadership, brand building and longterm collaboration.

Becki Barker, Art Director, WASH Studio, discussing the power of design, storytelling and visual identity in shaping brands with national reach.

Helen explained, “I’m really excited to kick off the series talking to Amy, Lynsey and Becki. The Northern Dough Co is a stand out success story both as a brand and a business but that dosent just come overnight. It takes blood sweat and tears from a dedicated team and I’m looking forward to finding out how that happened.”

The evening will include a panel discussion, audience Q&A and informal networking.

Tickets are still available and can be booked via the event page.

Event Details

Title: Culture, Community and Commerce in the City 

Date: Wednesday 20th May Time: 18:00 – 20:30 

Venue: Society1, Preston 

Tickets: Book your place on TicketTailor  

For more information, please contact Helen Brady, hvb@helenvbrady.co.uk.