Celebrating The Best of The Best
When we first launched back in 2022, we wanted to tell people about the incredible experiences happening all around them in London and beyond.
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We knew the hospitality industry was struggling and families were constantly - desperately - looking for new ways to entertain their children. We knew that people were being bombarded with travel options and didn't know where to spend their hard-earned cash. And we were sure that great artists were putting on exhibitions that demanded far more attention than they were getting.
But we also knew that your opinions were just as important, because you're the people out there, on the ground, in the middle of it all. You're the ones discovering that new bakery in the backstreets of suburbia or the amazing new family event that's launching just around the corner.
Within two years of launching, we hit 30,000 unique monthly visitors and we thought that was worthy of a celebration. Not for us, because we're just the messengers. No, we wanted to celebrate the business that make Time Well Spent possible.
That's why we launched the Time Well Spent Awards - our chance to celebrate the most loved and respected businesses in town.
How does it work?
We know you're busy, so we won't take up much of your time. Our nominations take less than two minutes using this form and you can nominate as many businesses as you like. When nominations close on [DATE], we'll open every category up to a public vote. Spread the word, cast your votes and cross your fingers - we'll announce the winners in August.
So it's just a popularity contest?
Well, we do want to recognise the businesses that appeal to the masses, yes. But we also understand that popularity contests unfairly favour those established businesses with huge social reach and well-paid marketing teams. That's why we'll also have TWS Selects, which is our team's way of recognising those businesses that deserve more love than they get. Those awards are in addition to the public votes, and we'll give them out wherever we see fit.
What about cash? Can you be bought?
We know how some other awards work - it's all 'buy a table at our awards ceremony and some advertising on our website and you'll find your way to the top of the pile', but we don't believe in that.
If you take a look through our website you'll see precious few ads (in fact, most of the time you'll find none!) and if we ever write an article for a partner or advertiser, you'll see a big ol' ADVERTORIAL sign at the top of the page.
We're very open to having sponsors for our awards, but they won't be nominees.
Why just London? Don't you care about the rest of us?
Woah, steady on there! Awards are a bit of a beast and Time Well Spent Magazine is put together by a mighty - but small - team. For our inaugural awards there are more than 60 categories and it was important to us that we got it right, so we're concentrating on London for now. Once we've found our feet, we'd love to extend the awards to the rest of the country, so please let us know we're on the right track by voting and sharing the love.
Give us a rundown of the timings!
OK, here are the dates for your diaries:
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March 3 - April 10: Nominations are open! Head to this form and tell us who you want to win
April 20: Nominations announced! Nominations are over and we'll let you know who's on the hotlist. Follow us here and on social media and help spread the word
April 21 - July 31: Voting is open! Cast your votes, tell your friends and do your bit for your favourite local businesses. ​
Mid-August: Results time! Once we've given notice to all of our winners, we'll announce the results here and on social media. Help us spread the love!