Every day this week I am sharing my team members who have been with me over 10 years. I myself have been a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator for 13 years and have enjoyed every minute. I met some amazing people on my Stampin’ Up! journey and as a result I have a large team of wonderful people in my team, spreading their love of Stampin’ Up! across Europe.
We have shared so much fun and made so many memories over our 10 years together. Who knew that my love of craft could take me round the world meeting the most amazing people?
This lovely lady is Sarah Poulton and her two beautiful girls. Sarah celebrated her 10th Anniversary with Stampin’ Up! back in February 2020. Sarah lives a long way from me so I don’t see her as often as I’d like but Sarah and her mum attended my very first team meeting which I held in Bicester. Unfortunately the venue key holder overslept so we were all hanging around outside in the car park before I could let anyone in! It was a great way to meet each other I guess 🙂
Sarah is a Silver titled demonstrator and has the reputation as the crafty lady on the Isle of Wight. Her family are crafty too and she continues to share her love of crafts with anyone she meets.
Tell us a little about you Sarah
I live on the Isle of Wight with my husband Sam and two daughters (6 and 8). I’ve always run my Stampin’ Up! business alongside my full time job. In my time as a demo I’ve been a Payroll Manager, Charity Branch Manager for a large IOW Animal Rehoming Centre as well as a Business Manager for a local school. I am currently writing a proposal to return to University to hopefully study for a PhD. Having lived a lot of different places I am happy to have returned back to the IOW to have my family and settle my roots close to my parents and sisters.
What do you love most about being a demo?
I joined Stampin’ Up! shortly after returning to the Isle of Wight to live. Being a demonstrator helped me reach out to new friends and new parts of the local community to share a love of crafting. I’ve loved all the new friends I have made and helped to try new techniques and products. I’ve also loved attending Stampin’ Up! live events from my earliest Convention in Croydon to travelling pregnant with my first daughter to Paris to presenting on stage at Telford. I’ve loved the opportunity to meet my Stampin’ Up! family in real life and share our love of all things papercraft.
Why did you join?
I joined Stampin’ Up! to help my mum and I get our hands on the full Stampin’ Write markers collection. We’d received a catalogue with a crafting magazine and poured over it with a coffee in Tesco. We had such a long shopping list that after talking to Michelle, joining seemed to make the most sense. I soon realised that selling the products and doing in home parties would be easy as talking about my love for the products burst right out of me at every opportunity.
What does your business look like?
Right now my business is smaller than it has been. I have a small local team and I run 1 class a month for members of my monthly hostess club. I will always run parties for people if they ask and I enjoy prepping and creating to share with people. I have loved how my business has adapted to run alongside my daily life.
Your best memory of the last 10 years?
Attending a crafting session run by Michelle with my Mum at a small venue with about 30 other people. I loved meeting the team (many of whom are still part of Michelle’s downline) and sharing swaps. I loved the excitement of sitting and creating swaps for the event and I still remember the exact design, I created a mini IOW postcard to represent where I come from. I can remember the conversations I had and the projects we made. I loved the feeling of sharing and crafting together.
One piece of advice to anyone considering buying the starter kit?
When I have been asked this question before I always say the same thing, buy products you really love. If you love what you create with, then selling is just sharing something you enjoy and are passionate about. Your love for the products will shine through. Practically I have always found that choosing a stamp set with a matching punch is always a good place to start as well, as my customers have always loved being able to punch their images without worrying about fussy cutting.
Thanks so much Sarah for sharing with us. I will never forget when you did your presentation in Telford and stood up and talked to the whole crowd about using social media. You were so nervous beforehand but I will never forget that after you had done it, I came to congratulate you at the side of the stage and you said ‘I want to do it again’! You were absolutely buzzing with adrenaline and excitement.
The photo below is one of my faves ever! It was taken at an OnStage event in Brussels and we had so much fun. It is such a treat to be able to hang out together whilst fully immersing ourselves in all that we love about Stampin’ Up! I am so ready to meet up again in person, let’s hope that 2021 is a better year for us all!
Thanks for the fun and memories Sarah. You epitomise Stampin’ Up! for me and your love of the company as well as the products simply shines through whenever you share. I so appreciate you sharing today and hope that next year we can gather together in person.
Please pop back tomorrow as each day this week I am sharing a post to celebrate my amazing team members who have been with me for 10 years and more! I have more information about joining in the tab at the top of my blog if you think that being part of our team is something you’d enjoy. We would love to welcome you.
