Spotlight On: 'That Crafty Stitch' & 'Her Small Biz'
Introducing a serial entrepreneur that BIPC customers may recognise! Meet Sam Webber, founder of ‘Her Small Biz’ and ‘That Crafty Stitch’.
How it all Started
After a hugely successful retail career, managing flagship stores for the Arcadia Group in London and the Southwest, Sam was burnt out. Retail had changed and she lacked the autonomy she craved. Realising that the life she was living didn’t align with her true values anymore, she quit!
Sam worked in part-time admin roles (some of which she deliberately had to ‘dumb down’ her CV to get due to overqualification!) and focused on starting her first business. Then one Sunday evening in March 2020, Sam received a call from her employer and was let go from her lifeline job!
Simultaneously Boris announced that mask-wearing would become mandatory in all indoor spaces. That night Sam made, photographed, and listed 10 different mask designs on her Etsy shop and instantly started getting orders. Covid proved to be the catalyst for her Etsy store, going from around 10 to 150 orders overnight! Sam had enormous envy for those who had been furloughed and were spending their days relaxing in their gardens. But it was in this time that she was ‘working her arse off’ to build up the beginnings of her businesses.
Aligning your Business with your Values
Later on in the pandemic, Sam decided she wanted to pivot the direction of her Etsy shop, which at the time was called ‘Bababumpkin’, selling nursery gifts, prints, banners bunting and masks ‘a real hodgepodge of products’.
Sam says;
“If I’m honest, I didn’t really resonate with the audience that I was trying to cater to. I don’t intend to have children and my brand was all about that, there was again, a real disconnect with my values. I decided to share my love of creating through selling craft kits and supplies, something that could also be more scalable and would ignite my passions in a genuine way, meaning it was easy to maintan without losing momentum or energy.”
‘That Crafty Stitch’ and ‘Her Small Biz’ are Born!
Hence ‘That Crafty Stitch’ was born! Founded from a passion for creativity and making things, the online store specialises in knit kits, craft kits, tutorials and craft supplies, all aimed at absolute beginners, designed with learning in mind and to be accessible to as many as possible! You can find them at www.thatcraftystitch.co.uk or follow along tutorials on their Youtube Channel!
Once founding ‘That Crafty Stitch’, Sam’s next venture was an absolute no-brainer. Having picked up the bug for entrepreneurship and wanting to meet other like-minded women running small businesses, in September 2021 she created ‘Her Small Biz’. A female-led craft event, ‘run by women in biz, for women in biz’. From running her first event in November 2021, to partnering with the BIPC team and running a craft fair at Paignton Library this spring as part of our Women in Business program. Sam has connected makers from all across Devon!
Follow Sam’s Journey
Whether you are picking up crafts for the first time, or want to connect with Sam about joining the next ‘Her Small Biz’ market, you can follow along the journey with us, through the links below!
Her Small Biz: