On September 27th, I enjoyed being part of the Grand Opening of Interiors by Sarah, situated in the High Street in the picturesque Old Bakery - complete with ribbon to cut, balloons and bubbly. Since then, Sarah Marshall (no relation to Philip Marshall who ran an upholstery business there for years) has been delighted with the interest that the new shop has attracted.
Sarah told me that she has worked with fabric ever since she left school in Leicester, mostly in clothing and soft furnishings. Early on she worked with a company in Windsor that made bespoke soft furnishings for designers in London; very much top end of the market. When the owner died and the company closed, she decided to become self-employed, doing exactly the same things but with her own clients many from all over the world. Eventually, family ties drew her back to the Midlands, and she continued her business from home in Wymeswold. The business there really took off and soon home didn’t provide her with enough room to work or display her goods, so she started looking for a suitable property to move into.
The Old Bakery shop fitted the bill exactly and in September she moved in.
Sarah specialises in made-to-measure bespoke curtains, cushions, upholstery, lampshades, blinds and gifts. Her shop is her showroom, and it is a delightful space filled with lovely items tastefully arranged. In fact, quite an Aladdin’s cave. Reading reviews on her website, it is clear that Sarah is a very talented soft-furnisher.
Not content with making and selling soft furnishings, Sarah also runs workshops (all fabric-based so she isn’t competing with other Barrow workshops). She can manage a group of six people and the first session was fully booked when she worked on fabric acorns and pumpkins for autumn. She has three workshops planned before Christmas: Christmas wreaths (in fabric), baubles (fabric again) and lampshades. The workshops will be advertised in the shop and on Facebook, Instagram and her website - https://www.interiorsbysarah.co.uk/
We are delighted that Sarah’s business is taking off and we wish her every success.
Judith Rodgers