Hi everyone, my name is Sarah Farrugia and I am the owner of the resin business SAF Designs (@_safdesigns).
I studied marketing at the University of Malta, following which I completed my masters degree in digital marketing at Trinity College in Dublin. Towards the end of my journey in Dublin, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Because of this, I quickly had to return back to Malta, and quickly entered into a world of quarantine, self-isolation and social distancing. This gave me newfound time to explore my passions, so I picked up a paintbrush and started to paint (something I hadn't done since before university life). I had heard about resin through an advert on social media, and immediately started watching tutorials and researching all about this new material. I started out by making a couple of coaster molds using silicone that I had at home, ordered some resin and that's the birth of my resin story.
The world of resin was definitely quite challenging to begin with. Finding how to work well with the material wasn't an easy task. I still remember my very first coaster set being completely flexible and bubbles floating all around the middle. However, I was adamant to create a product that I was proud of, so I persevered by watching hundreds of tutorials and reading up to learn as much about resin as I possibly can, specifically the do’s and don’ts and safety procedures when working with it. Eventually, my pieces started turning out exactly how I wanted them to, and that's when I truly embarked on my resin journey - trying different styles, colours, moulds and basically finding any way possible to incorporate resin into products I love.
I started my resin business during the beginning of the covid 19 pandemic. At the beginning, it was pretty scary to start out as I didn’t know whether it would be a success or a total fail, however you’d never know unless you try, right? It took a while to finally launch my business, but I did so once I had a product I was extremely happy with and that I knew I'd be proud to sell. It was also the right time in my life to launch a business, having just completed my masters degree, so I jumped into it when the opportunity struck.
The biggest obstacle that I had to overcome to start was really my own self-doubt and criticism. I refused to launch my products until I was completely certain that they were exactly how I wanted them to be. It took months of trial and error, and I kept putting off my launch date for this very reason, but in hindsight, I'm happy to have waited to launch when I felt comfortable doing so.
Naming one project that I love is a difficult one, I really do fall in love with each product I create. However, if I really had to choose my favourite product (out of the ones I make day-to-day), it would have to be dried flower coaster sets. My favourite one-off piece, though, has to be my resin geode mirror!
Creating with resin has been so much fun - I love everything about the material. I’ve learnt so much since I began my journey, and I know that there's still so much more to learn and to improve on. I love trying new products and techniques, and do have some new ideas and plans up my sleeve, so I’m so excited to see what the future holds for me and my business!
I'm very proud to say that I am a brand ambassador with craft resin! It's been an absolute pleasure being an ambassador of a brand I truly believe in. I also love forming part of a community that share the same passion for resin as I do. And the fact that I get to give my followers/fellow resin creators a discount on items from a brand that I love so much, is definitely a huge perk of being an ambassador.
Sarah
