Sara Davies, of Crafter's Companion, reveals life as a local celebrity in crafting world

COMPANY LOYALTY: Sara Davies says staff are fiercely loyal

SARA Davies gives a nervous laugh as she recoils at the suggestion.

“I'm not a celebrity”, she says, “but when I walk into Hobbycraft and someone comes up to me to tell me how great one of our products is, it's a bit of a surreal experience.

“It was also a bit embarrassing when the midwife recognised me too.”

The 29-year-old might be reticent about her position in the spotlight, but she is a friendly face to millions of craft enthusiasts, appearing regularly on a number of TV channels, including Create and Craft and the US' Home Shopping Network.

A real North-East entrepreneurial success story, Sara set up her crafts supplies business, Crafter's Companion, from her student bedroom while studying a management degree at the University of York.

As you walk into the firm's Collingwood House headquarters, in Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, which were once the family home, a cabinet glistens with silverware, a plethora of awards jostling for position upon ever-decreasing shelving space.

The Ernst and Young UK Emerging Entrepreneur Award, the Santander SME of the Year Award, Shell Livewire honours.

They are all there, as are many more, and serve as a visual reminder of what Sara's hard work and determination has yielded.

She is also head of the creative trade association, Craft Hobby Association, an investor at business support agency Gabriel Investors, and a mentor to members of the Entrepreneur Forum and UKTI's Catalyst group.

But the driven mother-to-be has no intention of stopping, and has now been shortlisted for the Shell Women Awards, the Natwest Women of the Future title, and the coveted international Stevie Awards.

Sitting in the company's head office, her status as a local celebrity is kind of borne out.

Cards adorn the walls and knitted babywear is folded neatly in piles, gifts from her crafting community fanbase.

An amazing change in lifestyle for a former student, who was talked out of following her dream to be a teacher by her father, and instead struck on the idea of launching her own venture after a year with an arts and crafts mail-order firm.

She said: “Right from growing up I always wanted to be a teacher, but my dad discouraged me.

“He said, that because of my drive and passion and will to do things, I would find myself just wanting to teach those that were interested because they shared that same desire.

“So, I went off to university, and in my last year I organised a placement at a craft company, which really helped me understand the industry.

“At that time, the craft industry was booming and I went back to university with all these ideas flying around in my head for products and how to develop them.

“So I converted my bedroom into an office, I bought a fax machine, a filing cabinet and a laser printer, using my student loan money.

“It was a case of cutting the food budget and stopping myself going out, and used that cash to start the business.

“I started with an envelope maker, people were making all of these lovely cards, but they needed something to send them in.

“So I went to a joiner's shop and asked them to make me a design for the tool in MDF.

“I touted it around the whole industry and wouldn't take no for an answer.

“It was sheer persistence, I would not stop banging on the door until someone let me in.”

That stringent budget, coupled with Sara's overwhelming passion, has brought rich dividends, and the importance of that very first wooden tool is emphasised by its place in that bulging trophy cabinet.

The eight-year-old company is now designing, making and supplying craft products for people across the world in what is a multi-million pound industry.

It recently secured a £150,000 deal with a major US retailer to send thousands of its flagship paper crafting tool, The Ultimate, to its chain of more than 1,100 stores across the US and Canada.

Employing about 40 workers in the UK, and a further 20 staff at its operation in California, in the US, Crafter's Companion sells products through retail outlets, online and the TV shopping channels, as well as working with brands such as Beatrix Potter and The Snowman.

Its success has also strengthened a further number of North-East jobs, with injection-moulding firm M and S Plastics, in Spennymoor, County Durham, helping to make The Ultimate.

She said: “I knew, back when I was starting up, that if I had something that could be developed for the mass market, I could really take it forward.

“I saw the potential in the industry was massive, and the millions of people who enjoy crafting every day.

“I went to the trade shows in the US again and again because I really wanted to understand the market.

“I wanted to approach it from the business angle, not just from a hobbyist angle.

“And now, as the economy is starting to pick up, more and more people are starting to open their own shops.

“That is the cornerstone of our industry, and crafting in the high street is starting to pick up.

“There is a lot more interest in our industry now, and I think that stems from the growth of television programmes such as Kirstie Allsopp's shows on Channel Four, and the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee and Great British Bake Off.

“It is such a lovely hobby, almost a community hobby, and you only have to look at Facebook to see how big it is now and how people want to share what they are doing with their friends.”

That fervour for crafting helps Sara during her many appearances under the bright lights in the TV studio.

She does up to 10 hours live filming every month, with fellow company workers also spending time showing off its products to national and international audiences.

She said: “The TV work is so dynamic.

“You are in front of the cameras, but you are also educating people and genuinely really excited about showing off your products.

“In the US, the focus is all about the sales, and you are stood in front of eight screens looking for the red light, while listening to people who are talking in your ear and telling you various pieces of information and which camera to move to.

“I certainly don't see myself as a celebrity, and it's all about creating an environment where the customer feels they are part of it with you, and that they are at the table working with you.

“But it is strange when people come up you and ask you how your mam is and I remember the midwife once telling me she couldn't wait to tell her mother who she had met today off the TV.”

Sara's husband, Simon, 33, helps her run the business, giving her more time to look at developing and marketing new products.

The relationship works well, and Sara says it's a partnership focused on achieving the utmost quality, but in the right environment, which has transcended to all the firm's workers.

She said: “People come to work because they love it, and they really have the bit between their teeth.

“Our workers have been here for a long time, you have to look after people and make them feel secure and valued, and they really are fiercely loyal to us.

“We are constantly moving forward and becoming a larger player in the industry.

“It is not about being the biggest, it is about being the best, and that is the path that we are on.”