Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 42 | Page 19

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 19
has clearly made her mark.
“I think some people thought I’d be too
nice for Dragons’ Den,” she says.
“Some of the guys who walk through
that lift, you can see how nervous they are,
sweaty palms and stuttering their lines. I
often say to them quietly ‘you’re doing great,
keep it going’. But that doesn’t mean to say
I’ll invest in their business.
“And the other dragons soon realised I
meant business when I took them on. They
all have their own qualities, but there are
some businesses I was determined to get,
and some I wasn’t willing to share!”
Sara has invested £504,000 of her own
money in eight businesses during the series,
including Tancream, Mak Tok chilli paste and
Pipe Easy, a tool for DIYers.
“We’ve already spent a lot of time working
with these businesses,” she says. “They’re
all exciting businesses in their own right, and
I love the thrill of helping to take businesses
to the next level.
“It’s hard work, and it does take more time
out of my diary. I still spend a lot of time in
my own business and, of course, I have a
young family.
“But thankfully I have fantastic support
around me.”
Davies founded Crafter’s Companion, a
craft supply company, whilst at university in
2005.
During a placement at a small craft
company she spotted a gap in the market for
a tool that could create bespoke envelopes
for handmade cards and, with help from
her retired engineer father, she designed
a product called The Enveloper which she
launched on the TV shopping channel
Ideal World, selling 30,000 units within six
months.
By the time she graduated the business
was turning over £500,000 – and by the
time she was 23, Sara had built a £2m
global craft business. Now, though, having
cracked the huge USA market, Crafter’s
Companion turns over £44m a year.
After initially establishing the business
in her hometown of Coundon – where her
parents’ paint shop and sister’s decorating
shop still reside – Crafter’s moved to
Aycliffe in 2016, taking over the former
Holiways car showroom, and later that year
she was awarded an MBE for services to
the economy.
Sara has recently been asked in TV
appearances why she continues to live in
County Durham.
“Rather than be annoyed at that
question, I actually love it when people ask
me that,” she insists.
“The people of the North-East know
how fantastic this region is. It’s my home
and it’s where I built my business.
“My commitments take me all over
the UK and to the USA but our base will
always be here and we’re proud of that.
“There’s also a fantastic community feel
here on Aycliffe Business Park – it’s the
perfect location for us.”
“The people of the
North-East know how
fantastic this region
is. It’s my home and
it’s where I built my
business.”