A CRAFT supplies firm is eyeing further retail growth after embarking on a £250,000 expansion just weeks after opening its first shop.

Crafter’s Companion is opening a base in Chesterfield. The move comes after bosses transformed the former Holiways Ford showroom in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, into offices and a retail outlet.

Bosses say the Chesterfield venture will mirror Aycliffe, which complements sales with demonstration areas to teach papercrafting, sewing and home décor.

The Derbyshire expansion will see the company move into the Dobbies Garden Centre Shopping Village, alongside firms such as Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Lakeland.

Sara Davies, who founded Crafter’s Companion while studying at the University of York, said the development will help the business and the crafting industry grow.

She said: “We always hoped to do more than one shop and were looking at building something here to take it forward. We were not necessarily planning to do one so soon after Aycliffe, but a great opportunity came up. We will be taking baby steps, but Dobbies are so keen.

“In Aycliffe, we are attracting people who are interested in craft. In Chesterfield, we should have a much higher footfall of new crafters.

“We hope this is the start of a great relationship. Dobbies’ retail presence and customer demographics fit perfectly with our own, making Chesterfield the perfect location.”

The Aycliffe expansion, in which the firm moved from its former headquarters in Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, has pushed its North-East workforce beyond 70, with a number of roles created in the shop and an adjoining café. The Chesterfield move will deliver 14 jobs.

However, she said the store will not be the catalyst for a rapid expansion, with the company keen to stick to its personal approach.

Earlier this year, Mrs Davies received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to the economy.