Sara Davies

“I was surprised to hear that I would receive an MBE and have no idea where the nomination originated but I'm incredibly grateful.”

“We've had to be innovative, in terms of reaching the customer, and that's all been about making it an experiential shopping environment.”

“I am incredibly passionate about craft but am just as passionate about supporting local craft companies.”

“I want to inspire and educate people and just be an Aladdin's cave for the magpie crafters that are already out there.”

“By becoming an MBE, I hope it helps raise the profile of our sector and what a thriving industry it is. I also hope it inspires others entrepreneurs in craft to believe, innovate and put our industry firmly on the map.”

“Crafting covers so many areas and over the last few years, we have seen a real boom in the U.K. in terms of people adopting craft as a hobby.”

“There's all these stores all over the country and a lot of them are small but they're like little Aladdin's caves full of exciting nooks and crannies filled to the brim with products. Then you've got Hobbycraft, which is like a supermarket for crafts. What we want to be is a hybrid between the two.”

“It's an amazing achievement to win a National Business Award and it recognises all of the hard work and determination of the team of people that have made Crafter's Companion the success that it is today.”

“Sewing is getting more mainstream, helped by the BBC show, 'The Great British Sewing Bee,' and we have to look at those types of things to see how we can use it as an opportunity.”

“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.”

“It's always good when you prove people wrong.”

“I know exactly what it feels like to be an entrepreneur with everything riding on a sale.”

“I grew up in a little pit village on the outskirts of Durham.”

“Although I was not a crafter before starting the business, I find it relaxing.”

“When we opened our office in Santa Ana, California, in 2016, I could not have envisioned this level of growth, although I always knew our products would be well received by customers in North America.”

“People forget we've got awesome entrepreneurs all over the country, especially in the North East.”

“It's a myth that you need thousands of pounds to start a business.”

“For all it is a smaller country in terms of geography, Holland is the most closely aligned market to the U.K. in terms of trend. It is a big nation of card-makers and paper crafters, and Germany's market is at least five times larger than over here.”

“Michaels is probably the most respected craft retailer on the planet so to be working with them is a fantastic honour, and it will go a long way in helping us boost U.S. sales.”

“There are lots of people at our company who dedicate their time and effort to make sure that the journey from product design to hitting the screen is as seamless as possible.”