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Ringwood craft workshop SbriStudio makes Etsy Design Awards finals with leather dog poo bag dispenser




A RINGWOOD workshop has found excellence in excrement as its dog poo bag dispenser scooped a place in a global online giant's design awards.

SbriStudio is one of only eight UK sellers selected among 100 worldwide finalists competing for the $20,000 grand prize in the awards run by internet craft megamarket Etsy.

Launched in February 2020, SbriStudio is a sister company of Create Gift Love, set up in a Christchurch garden shed by Emily Carr in 2012.

Emily and Tony Carr, directors of Create Gift Love and SbriStudio
Emily and Tony Carr, directors of Create Gift Love and SbriStudio

Emily was a full-time pharmacist but after making wooden cufflinks for family members one Christmas she started selling handmade gifts online in her spare time.

Create Gift Love quickly outgrew her shed, and Emily and her husband Tony both left their jobs to co-direct the business, taking on a small team and local workshop space.

With the increasing popularity of the outlet's leather accessories, the pair launched Sbri – a Welsh word meaning 'fun' – as a separate entity.

Sbri's creative assistant Georgia Stephenson said: "When we initially launched Sbri the product range consisted of personalised leather purses, keyrings and some small travel accessories.

"But in the 18 months since we launched we have been able to develop some exciting new products like our handcrafted leather handbags, small tech accessories and our new range of personalised leather pet products."

And among the personalised leather pet products is the dog poo bag dispenser, an idea which came from one of the team.

"Our pet products were a customer request," said Georgina. "We often ask our Instagram followers what kind of new products they’d like to see from us and a pet range always comes highly suggested.

"One of our team members, Carla, had a new puppy at the start of this year and the poop bag holder was her suggestion – her puppy Hendrix has been chief product tester for the pet range!"

The dog poo bag dispensers can be personalised
The dog poo bag dispensers can be personalised

She added: "There's not much else like it on the market – it's fun, stylish and personalised but extremely practical and useful as well which has made it a hit with dog owners.

"We've sold them to owners up and down the country and a few have gone as far as the USA and Australia."

SbriStudio's products are made from sustainably sourced natural materials, are plastic-free and the Ringwood workshop is powered by renewable energy.

All products are designed, made and dispatched on-site by a team of 11. An average day has up to 100 items shipped out the door, but busy periods like Christmas can see more than 1,000.

Georgina said the team was "completely blown away" to make the final of the Etsy Design Awards.

"We knew we loved this product and our customer feedback has been brilliant so far, but to get recognition from the Etsy Design Awards judges was absolutely amazing and unexpected, especially when there are so many incredible entries and innovative products.

"Running a small business is wonderful but it definitely has its challenges too, so having our hard work recognised by Etsy means so much to us."

Etsy is a global online market specialising in craft. In 2020 it saw total sales of £7.4bn from 4.4-million sellers and 81.9-million buyers.

The winners of the Etsy Design Awards will be announced in August. Second and third prizes of $15,000 and $10,000 are also up for grabs.



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