{"id":181700,"date":"2023-11-19T21:05:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-19T21:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotworldreport.com\/?p=181700"},"modified":"2023-11-19T21:05:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T21:05:55","slug":"dragons-den-sara-davies-my-family-all-craft-our-christmas-presents-it-saves-money-and-its-so-personal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotworldreport.com\/celebrities\/dragons-den-sara-davies-my-family-all-craft-our-christmas-presents-it-saves-money-and-its-so-personal\/","title":{"rendered":"Dragon\u2019s Den Sara Davies: \u2018My family all craft our Christmas presents – it saves money and it\u2019s so personal\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The founder of crafting emporium Crafter\u2019s Companion back in 2005 \u2013 which she set up in her university bedroom \u2013 has made millions for Sara Davies and earned her a place on the prestigious Dragons\u2019 Den panel.<\/p>\n

\u201cCraft is my world. It\u2019s my whole career,\u201d she admits. And as the festive season approaches, Sara, 39, says it\u2019s a no-brainer to get crafty for Christmas, not just as a money saver but also to take time out of our busy lives to be creative. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s budget-friendly not to spend a fortune on elaborate decorations. Just make some! We can all get so caught up in buying, buying, buying, but a homemade gift means you\u2019ve taken the time to create something your loved ones will remember,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re quite a nation of just going to the shops and buying something. People feel too busy to sit down and make, but I really want to bring that idea back into households.\u201d<\/p>\n


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Inside Celeb SAS' Gareth Gates' very modern home with stunning kitchen<\/p>\n

This time of year has been especially busy for mum-of-two Sara, whose new book, Craft Your Year With Sara Davies: The Crafting Bible, has just been published. Every October she spends two weeks celebrating the successes of another year with her colleagues, and it\u2019s also the time when her Crafter\u2019s TV platform gets its biggest audience as customers get set for Christmas. <\/p>\n

Every year is \u201cbigger and better than ever\u201d, she says. \u201cI definitely do more crafting around Christmas time. I have the reputation as the \u2018crafty one\u2019 in the family and in my friendship group, so every year you\u2019ll find me making cards with the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laughing, she reveals that crafting at Christmas with her children also reminds her of fun family times from her past. \u201cQuite a few years ago, my sister Helen was at university and my mum decided she didn\u2019t want her to spend as much on Christmas presents.<\/p>\n

\u201cMum said, \u2018We\u2019re not buying gifts this year \u2013 you can make something.\u2019 And so it became a competition \u2013 who would make the best gift \u2013 and this has carried on for years and years.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe final straw came when Helen went as far as taking sewing classes. Of course parents can\u2019t choose a winner between their daughters so the only real winner was my dad, who had all the cakes and chocolates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crafting also brings people together, says Sara, who lives in Teesside with her husband Simon and sons Oliver, six, and Charlie, three.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister moved home to the North a few years ago and lived with me for a few months. She was here at Christmas and we got stuck into making stuff together. My friend loves to come round for crafting too. Basically, she loves to make a mess at my house,\u201d laughs Sara.<\/p>\n

And as if saving money and having fun aren\u2019t enough of a sell, being creative is great for mental wellbeing \u2013 something Sara feels passionate about.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrafting is so great for mental health. GPs have even started prescribing it. It\u2019s brilliant too for dexterity as people get older, but it\u2019s just a great switch off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recently did a bit of work with the charity Mind and we set up a crafting activity to make pompoms on a morning TV show. We had all sorts of celebrities involved, including Corey Taylor from heavy metal band Slipknot, and they were instantly captivated and quiet. It went to a break and they still carried on!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sara, who became a Dragon in 2019, has just finished filming another series of the show, set to hit screens next year. Would she have been brave enough to stand in front of the Dragons back when she first started out?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early days of my business, years before I had anything to do with Dragons\u2019 Den, I was actually asked to go on the show,\u201d she reveals. <\/p>\n

"I was doing pretty well already though, so when they asked me, \u2018How much money do you need and how much of your business do you want to give away?\u2019 I had over \u00a3100k in the bank and said that I didn\u2019t want any money, I just wanted the expertise. That\u2019s not what they were looking for then though.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she admits she owes the programme a great deal. \u201cI\u2019m very lucky that Dragons\u2019 Den has made my profile so much bigger, but I feel a responsibility towards the craft industry. It has given me this wonderful business so it\u2019s time for me to give back a little bit. I want as many people as possible crafting this Christmas."<\/p>\n

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Craft Your Year With Sara Davies: The Crafting Bible is out now (Bantam Press, \u00a320)<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n