Sara Davies – 15th anniversary

As most people know, I set up Crafter’s Companion in 2005 when I was studying for a business degree at York university.

Part of the degree required me to complete a year’s business placement and while most people worked at busy London firms, I chose to complete mine at a craft company in the North East of England.

Choosing this company was the best decision I could make, however, as the placement enabled me to completely immerse myself into all parts of the business and I gained a lot from the experience.

It was here that I started speaking to crafters and I noticed that they were putting their beautiful cards into ill-fitting envelopes and I knew that something could be done, so I created The Enveloper and the rest, as they say, is history.

Crafter’s Companion has grown in a phenomenal way throughout the past 15 years. We have continued to sell papercraft products to our loyal customers but we have also expanded our offering to include sewing and needlecraft products with our Threaders range, as well as premium but affordable art supplies with our Spectrum Noir brand.

We continue to design, manufacture and sell our products to customers across more than 40 different countries, and we employ more than 200 staff internationally, all the while celebrating our North East roots with our head office and warehouse in County Durham.

It seems fitting that I’m writing this piece to celebrate our 15^th anniversary for the Creative Industry Association, when I was involved in the organisation being established, back in 2010 (then known as the AFCI-UK).

I was on the board of the Craft & Hobby Association in the US, and I saw how the organisation was supporting thousands of companies which operate in the design, manufacture, distribution and selling of creative products across the world. I recognised the work that the US-based body was doing, and I thought that the craft industries deserved the same amount of help and support in the UK.

I was immensely proud when UK chapter was founded with the support of leading UK Craft and hobby businesses, with a board of directors including Carolyn Schulz, Derek Bamford and myself.

In the years since the association was established, it has been great to see that people who were invested in the success of the organisation a decade ago, like Craig De Souza, have continued to support hundreds of creative businesses and professionals. Advice and guidance have been invaluable to me throughout my career so it is comforting that other companies in our industry are able to have access to such a strong support network.

In addition to commemorating our 15^th anniversary, last year was also special because we celebrated the first anniversary of our digital platform, Crafter’s TV. The launch of Crafter’s TV epitomises the changes and developments that Crafter’s Companion has made, in order to deliver what our customers want to see from us.

We provide a service where we are able to go live into people’s living rooms and share our newest products with them, showing them how to use the products and providing them with inspirational ideas to recreate at home. Through the channel, we are able to engage with our customers on another level, they can comment, ask us questions and we’re able to interact with them almost immediately.

Our shows have been so successful that we’ve opened a brand-new studio and increased our programming schedule to seven days a week, with up to five live shows per day.

I’m extremely proud of what Crafter’s Companion has achieved in the past 15 years and I’m so excited about the years to come. Regardless of which anniversary we are celebrating, our Birthday Week is always an opportunity to celebrate with the craft community and the people who have been a part of our journey. As we recognise how far Crafter’s Companion has progressed, we can continue to grow and develop as we look towards the future.

VIsit Crafter’s Companion