For a fledgling business looking to boost its profile, an appearance on a BBC TV show is always going to be attractive.

Debbie Tebbutt, who founded Nintai Jewellery 17 months ago, saw a great opportunity for free publicity when she was looking on the website of upmarket store Liberty of London.

She discovered the company was running a competition with the Beeb to find new products to fill its shelves.

Debbie quickly fired off an application and she was invited on to the show, called the Buying Game and fronted by Dragons' Den's Theo Paphitis.

"I did a five-minute pitch to two of the retail buyers at Liberty," she said. "There was a lot of competition and it was a great experience. Unfortunately, they are not going to take any of my stuff."

Debbie does not yet know whether she will make the final cut when the show is screened in the summer. But she joins a long list of Leicestershire businesses to appear on TV in recent years, with some having more success than others.

"I saw Theo, but didn't get to speak to him," he said.

The 31-year-old founded the business, which she runs from her Market Harborough home, in January 2009, five months after being made redundant from her job as a graphic designer.

"I was a graphic designer working for a Leicestershire company, designing promotional material", said Debbie, who was assisted by a grant from the Prince's Trust.

"I was made redundant because of the recession, which gave me a kick-start to start up my own business. It's something I'd wanted to do for a while and this has been a hobby for quite a while, so this gave me the opportunity I needed. I'm still doing graphic design freelance. All that experience has enabled me to set up my website and do the photography. I've put all that experience into my jewellery business."

Her handcrafted pieces, which use carefully selected beads, crystals and gemstones from around the world, are being stocked at Solutions of Market Harborough and Nest of Stoneygate.

They can also be bought online at www.etsy.com, www.folksy.com and en.dawanda.com, as well as through her own website, www.nintaijewellery.co.uk.

She said she was getting her biggest sales through her website and had attracted customers from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.

"It's going better than I expected," said Debbie. "It was always going to be a challenge with the recession. It's a definitely going in the right direction. I want to continue the hard work and see where it goes. I want to get my own shop eventually."

Debbie says she got her passion for jewellery while living in Sydney. She says her dad's cousin also runs a jewellery business in Devon.

"It feels good to be doing this," she said. "It's something I've always wanted to do; build up a brand. It's a large learning curve. I'm not only doing the creative side, but the marketing, the PR and the accounts.

"You've got to be motivated, committed and have a passion for what you do. But everyone can do it."