Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Briginshaw
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have a history of sourcing and selling products starting in the luxury yachting industry in France and moving onto sourcing product for boutique stores within high end lodges in South Africa.
It was only when I arrived in Rye, New York that I opened by own brick and mortar and e-commerce store.
When I arrived in the USA 9 years ago I came on the back of my husbands work in the fashion industry and had no clear plan on what my future would hold.
But I missed my home country and the design and products which surrounded me each day and so I had an idea to open my store Sarza with the idea that I could champion the amazing design and product available in South Africa.
Slowly our presence, range and popularity grew and my husband and I became a team growing Sarza together.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The beginning was difficult as being foreigners without a credit history in the US we had no access to credit which you really need to grow a business. To start we had to finance everything personally.
Being a husband and wife team also has its challenges and my husband and I have strong personalities and so we had to forge a path that allowed us both to have our own departments (with overlap of course) but I think we managed to do this quite successfully and we make a great team.
Being a small business as husband and wife team, and also having young kids and raising them simultaneously definitely had its challenges too. In addition not having any family to call on for assistance did not help. I sometimes had that bad mother syndrome. On the flip side this also did breed independence in our children so. not altogether a bad thing looking back.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Sarza store is a curated collection of contemporary African designs of home goods, furniture, lighting, wallpapers and accessories.. Majority of our items are sourced from South Africa, an emerging hot spot for incredible artisan and design talent. SARZA’s pieces are hand-made and one-of-a kind. Many of the products are created by small businesses that support communities, crafters and artisans by employing their skills and creative energies – always with an emphasis on quality, sustainability, fair working practices and respect. Most of our products have a story to tell.
What sets Sarza apart from other business is our hands-on small-team business approach which allows us to offer a great customer service.
What sets Sarza product apart is the fact that it has a clean, organic but contemporary aesthetic which makes it timeless and able to place comfortably in most homes.
Due to the close personal relationships we also offer easy customisation of product
We also have a competitive advantage having part of the Sarza team based in South Africa.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We work with retail clients as well as trade clients.
We offer a trade program on our website.
Customers can view all of our offerings on our website and purchase directly online.
For general questions or questions pertaining to customisations we are available by email (info@sarzastore.com) or website chat or by a call to the store (914-305-2023)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarzastore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarzastore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarzaStore
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sarzastore
