A TV ‘dragon’ is celebrating 15 years since she launched an international crafting firm from her university dormitory.

County Durham business mogul and star of Dragons’ Den, Sara Davies, is marking 15 years of Crafter’s Companion.

The Northern Echo:

The Newton Aycliffe-headquartered firm was founded by Mrs Davies in 2005, when she was studying for a business degree at York University.

Whilst undergoing the placement, the TV star spotted a gap in the market for a tool which could create bespoke envelopes for crafters.

With this in mind, she created The Enveloper and Crafter’s Companion was born.

She said: “This year has been extremely challenging for many businesses, so to celebrate another anniversary, especially one that represents such a significant milestone, means a great deal to the company.

“I am immensely proud of what Crafter’s Companion has been able to achieve in the last 15 years. We have strived to create innovative products for the crafts industry and our growth has seen us export to more than 40 different countries, outgrow our head offices in the UK and US and has seen us establish our digital platform, Crafter’s TV, which is going from strength to strength. This year, we were also awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, which was a huge accomplishment for the business.

“As well as being a big celebration, our birthday week is an opportunity to recognise how far we’ve come, as we look towards the future. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the continued support of our loyal customers and birthday week is our way of saying thank you for sticking with us for so long.”

The Northern Echo:

To commemorate the milestone, the craft business has planned a series of celebrations and giveaways on its digital platform, Crafter’s TV, in addition to its social channels and UK, EU and US websites.

From October 20, the company is offering exclusive discounts, new products and special birthday treats for customers who place an order.

Although the firm announced earlier this year that due to the Covid-19 pandemic it will not reopen its store at Aycliffe Business Park, it is still headquartered in the North-East and exports to more than 40 countries.

Crafter’s Companion also celebrated hitting the 200 staff mark last year and has recently acquired business Totally Tiffany – which is based in California.