Sarah Hurley of Sarah Hurley Brands discusses opportunities for craft companies in licensing

Hi Sarah. To kick us off, can you give us an introduction to you and your businesses?
I actually trained as a lawyer and then found I didn’t want to do that as a career! So, I started my business as an illustrator and then very quickly realised that what I loved was creating brands and products – I was talking about creating a brand universe 15 years ago!

Over the space of a couple of years, I gradually evolved into where it is today – creating brands, consumer products and content. I’ve now created over 50 brands and sold over 30 million licensed products. Then, two years ago, I launched Sarah Hurley Academy, providing impactful and inspiring business education to small creative businesses. Entrepreneurs usually start with creative skills and need to learn the business fundamentals to make it commercially viable and successful long term.

What inspired you to start your own business?
I think I always knew I’d start my own business. I looked at every job as a refining process to decide the bits I did and didn’t like and create a vision of what I would love to do – and made it my perfect job.

With the Academy, I saw the difference financial freedom can make, especially to women in challenging times. Early in my life I was trapped in a domestic violence situation as I had no financial freedom. After escaping and building a new life and remarrying, my second husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I faced firstly caring for him full time, and then losing him to it. I saw other women around me losing their homes, juggling overtime and visiting hours, and I realised how blessed I had been to have choices and time. After being widowed, it gave me a purpose to build something that could help others in those kinds of situations.

Financial freedom for me meant freedom to choose and ultimately, more time with my husband. I was inspired to help others achieve the same. It’s a juggle to combine running both companies, but I love it!

What do you think of the way that TV shows like Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice portray the world of business?
Shows like Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice have made business more accessible for people, which can only be a good thing. It shows business as an option and that if you have a great idea and enough persistence, you can go for it.

I grew up in quite a deprived place, and was very firmly told that anything corporate, professional or business related wouldn’t be possible for me… I proved them wrong! I think showing people that business is an option is a great thing and we should be encouraging entrepreneurship.

“There is so much potential in the craft market, but lack of innovation is the biggest mistake I see over and over.”

Absolutely. Now, talking about start-up businesses, what are some common mistakes people make – particularly in the craft area?
I started in the craft market with just two products and grew my business from there across gifts, publishing, home decor and so on… But I still have such a fondness for craft because it’s where I began!

There is so much potential in the craft market, but I think lack of innovation is the biggest mistake I see over and over. People see one company have success with a product and copy it, only leveraging slight variations, price and discounting.

The companies I see doing well are the ones taking educated risks, trying new things, collaborating and creating a broad range of products that build on each other and inspire people to grow their skills – rather than three variations of the same thing that split the customer spend. The key is growing a customer via inspiration and innovation – and subsequently, basket spend increases!

And if ​you could pass on one piece of advice for a craft shop, what would it be?
Focus on customer experience. Craft is a luxury purchase so ultimately you need to build a community. Engage with your consumer and give them things to come back for, whether that’s exclusives, classes, knowledge or inspiration. We all know we can buy products online, so you need to create something they can’t get there… A discovery experience that makes it unmissable.

Turning to design in the craft sector, can you highlight a couple of key trends that we should be looking out for in 2025?
Traditionally the craft audience has always been an older one, and the same themes come up again and again. However, the fastest growing creative customer now is the 25- to 45-year-old woman who crafts with purpose. If you can capture this audience with beautiful, useful products, you’re on to a winner!

Think about home decor, mindfulness projects and things to do with friends or family. My personal favourite is the breakthrough in digital crafting and the possibilities it creates beyond creativity and into starting a side hustle.

How do you keep on top of market trends?
Last year I started to produce The Hurley Report – the trend report for the creative industries. The report spans multiple creative industries that fit together, much as I’ve done in my own business. It provides a great source of data, information and inspiration for people looking to grow their business into multiple verticals in the same way as I have.

I’ve always been a curious person that loves to learn, research everything, study data, attend trade shows, talk to customers and listen and predicted what will be next – and I’m usually right! So now I share my findings with others in the report.

“Small craft designers could expand their brand much faster by licensing with larger companies.”

We recently spoke on a panel at the CHSI Stiches show about licensing. What opportunities do you think exist for craft companies in licensing?
There is so much opportunity! I think it’s just relatively new and can sometimes seem a little overwhelming and inaccessible to smaller companies and designers.

We need to open discussions about small collaborations to start to license small scale. Licensed branded craft products are always a hit in retail, and small craft designers could expand their brand much faster by licensing with larger companies – a real win/win for all!

You have been very successful in licensing. What do you put it down to?
Broadly, I think the things that helped me were taking my business to America and being open to multiple industries.

I attend so many trade shows, events and talks – and love to learn. I stay open to possibilities and never think I know it all. I also think coming in somewhat naive and not even knowing that what I was doing had a name at first helped, because no-one had told me I couldn’t… I emailed CEOs, introduced myself, suggested things and asked questions and for meetings. I had nothing to lose!

I wrote my first book this year – called Pushy Little Madam – as that was something I was called early in my career. It was supposed to make me feel small, I know, but ultimately, being a Pushy Little Madam is exactly what got me here. I’ve learned to embrace it, I’m proud of it now!

Sarah, this has been great. I have one last question: What person, brand or company in the craft sector inspires you?
There are countless! But I think Martha Stewart is one that always stands out to me, simply because she went for it too. She carved a path, leveraged her name and became an icon. She was never afraid of being creative or homey or that that would be seen as non-business-like – and that inspiration has allowed me to embrace that side too. You can be successful, entrepreneurial and like glitter, it’s fine…