At No. 124, seen by appointment rather than through a shop window, Maria Ruseva has been making womenswear to order.
Lee Road is not a shopping street in the way Tranquil Vale is. Running south from Blackheath Village towards Lee Green it is mostly houses and flats, and what commercial life it has tends to be food. At No. 124, seen by appointment rather than through a shop window, Maria Ruseva has been making womenswear to order — and her label, Moda de la Maria, has now been named one of Small Business Saturday UK's Nation's Favourite Businesses for 2026.
The list is new, replacing the campaign's long-running SmallBiz100, and nineteen London businesses are on it. Ruseva founded the label in 2013 and works in British wool, tweed, silk and cashmere, seeing each order through from pattern-cutting to finishing.
The recognition is attention rather than money. For a maker with no passing trade, attention is the scarcer commodity of the two, and harder to bank.
The campaign builds towards Small Business Saturday itself on 5 December, the one day of the year when high streets are asked to notice their own shops. The question for Lee Road is whether a national listing brings anybody up the street who was not already coming — which, for a business you have to ring first, means the appointment book, not the pavement.
- Moda de la Maria was named one of Small Business Saturday UK's Nation's Favourite Businesses for 2026, a new list replacing SmallBiz100
- Founded 2013 by designer Maria Ruseva, working in British wool, tweed, silk and cashmere
- Registered company Moda de la Maria Ltd incorporated 14 October 2024, office at a flat on Lee Road, SE3 9DE
- Trading showroom 'Boutique At Home' listed at 124 Lee Road, SE3 9DE, by appointment only
- Nineteen London businesses featured on the 2026 list overall
- Small Business Saturday 2026 falls on 5 December 2026
- Brand also claims prior shortlisting for Drapers Conscious Fashion Awards, Small Business Awards UK, and f:Entrepreneur #iAlso100, plus LUXlife wins in 2025 and 2026 (unverified beyond business's own account)
Every factual claim in this story is linked to the evidence behind it. Where the newsroom has added judgement or framing, it is listed separately. Sources accessed 26 September 2026.
- Lee-based fashion designer Maria Ruseva named one of the Nation's Favourite Businesses for 2026 (media)
- Moda de la Maria Ltd - Companies House (dataset)
- Moda de la Maria - Our Stockists (business)
- Small businesses from across London featured as Nation's Favourite Businesses (media)
- Search for Nation's Favourite Businesses begins (business)
- Nation's Favourite Businesses - Small Business Saturday UK (business)
Claim by claim (6 facts, 7 editorial judgements)
- Moda de la Maria was selected as one of the Nation's Favourite Businesses for 2026, a new Small Business Saturday UK initiative replacing SmallBiz100 — media, 2026-09-01“After a nationwide search, Moda de la Maria was selected as one of the Nation's Favourite Businesses for 2026, a new initiative from the Small Business Saturday campaign that replaces its previous Sma”
- Moda de la Maria Ltd's registered office is a flat at 122 Lee Road, London, SE3 9DE, incorporated 14 October 2024, status Active — dataset, 2024-10-14“Flat, 122 Lee Road, London, England, SE3 9DE”
- The brand's 'Boutique At Home' appointment-only showroom is listed at 124 Lee Road, SE3 9DE — business, 2026-09-26“Boutique At Home: 124 Lee Road, SE3 9DE.”
- Maria Ruseva founded Moda de la Maria in 2013 and specialises in made-to-order womenswear using British wool, tweed, silk and cashmere — media, 2026-09-01“founded in 2013”
- Nineteen London businesses were named to the 2026 list — media, 2026-09-01“nineteen from London in total”
- Small Business Saturday 2026 falls on 5 December 2026 — business, 2026-09-01“Small Business Saturday 2026”
- Judgement: The business has previously been shortlisted for Drapers Conscious Fashion Awards, Small Business Awards UK, f:Entrepreneur #iAlso100, and won LUXlife awards in 2025 and 2026
- Judgement: Lee Road is not a shopping street in the way Tranquil Vale is, and running south from Blackheath Village towards Lee Green it is mostly houses and flats.
- Judgement: Its recent commercial news has come from food: a cafe at No. 121 and a kebab takeaway at No. 126.
- Judgement: The showroom at No. 124 is seen by appointment rather than through a shop window, so the business has no passing trade.
- Judgement: The recognition is attention rather than money, and for a maker with no passing trade attention is the scarcer commodity of the two, and harder to bank.
- Judgement: Small Business Saturday is the one day of the year when high streets are asked to notice their own shops.
- Judgement: The question for Lee Road is whether a national listing brings anybody up the street who was not already coming, which for an appointment-only business means the appointment book rather than the pavement.