We Were in The Times!

We've had some amazing press features so far this year. There's nothing quite like talking about your personal life in The Times but - hey! - it’s my story so why not share it?

Never did I think I’d get a double page article in The Times; it was a true ‘pinch me’ moment seeing my story in print. I am so honoured and humbled to be recognised and have the opportunity to share my journey. 

Read the full article below...

For Sara Miller the experience of separating from her husband at the age of 29, having been together since university, created a “huge turning point” that kick-started her design business. With the feeling of certainty about where her life was going removed, she took two weeks off her job as a greetings card designer and went to India. She had always wanted to go there but her former husband had not.

“It was an incredible trip,” she said. “From a creative lens it was the decoration, the colours of the saris, seeing everything fully adorned and decorated with pompoms. Personally, I had a moment zipping through traffic in Delhi when I saw a family of five all on one moped and they looked really happy. I thought, I don’t need to stay in a life that’s unhappy.”

Her company, Sara Miller London, now has a range of more than a thousand products including gift bags, suitcases and wallpaper, all made by manufacturing partners that had bought a brand license, and sold through retailers including John Lewis. Within two years of starting the brand in 2016 the company’s products were being sold by her license partners in more than sixty countries.

Miller, 39, employs eight people in her north London studio and the total retail turnover of the company’s products is about £18 million. Although demand for more expensive items has declined since the homewares boom of the pandemic, sales of smaller items such as mugs and storage tins have compensated as shoppers turn to more affordable treats, Miller said.

She has not had to raise any outside investment since starting the company with £3,000 on a credit card, which she used to pay for a stand at a New York trade show for licensed products after designing her first collection.

Recovering from the feeling of failure when her marriage ended at a relatively early age has given her belief in her decision-making, she said, and she has since remarried and has two children. “I feel very confident about who I am. I’m not answering to anybody, and I’ve found decision-making has come really naturally. As well as the creative side, I enjoy thrashing out the commercial details.”