SWIG Start Up success story, Sarah Burghard appears in the November issue of Cotswold Life Business, available to buy now.
Sarah, whose great-great-great grandfather William Ball set up specialist warp knitting firm Baltex in Derbyshire in the 1830’s, is launching Sarah Burghard Designs at the Independent Hotel Show on the 21st and 22nd October in London. The former actress played roles in TV series Bergerac and Drop the Dead Donkey as well as treading the boards in West End Theatres such as the Old Vic and the Criterion.
Partly funded by an £8,000 loan from SWIG Start Ups, the regional delivery partner of the government-backed Start Up Loan scheme, Sarah now has a website, IT facilities as well as exhibitions stands.
“My SWIG mentor has been brilliant and helped me through the business planning process. I was really impressed with them. I felt the business was viable because they vetted me properly.”
Sarah, 46, lives at The Vatch with her husband Tom and her two sons and says her acting career has been an influence on the new venture. “I am very interested in character and taking on identity through my work.
“I decided that textile design is my love and I wanted to create a commercial operation out of my passion. The opportunity came when a friend wanted me to paint a picture of her home, so I went around taking photos and created a kaleidoscopic collage of her life and lifestyle.”
Recent work includes interior designs of The Swan country hotel at Streatley in Oxfordshire. She has also created bespoke pieces for an exhibition in Slad Church to celebrate the centenary birthday of the author Laurie Lee.
John Peters, Managing Director for SWIG Finance, said: “Sarah Burghard Designs has great business potential and was a worthy recipient of the loan we have given.
“We encourage other businesses needing funding to get in touch with us. We have many funds available for businesses at different stages of development and offer paths to growth for companies which can’t access bank finance.
“We are delighted to see Sarah’s business getting off the ground and wish her all the best for the future.”
See the original article in Cotswold Life Business.