This week, we had the chance to chat with Sarah Green, the creative powerhouse behind Sarah Urban. Sarah's journey from event management to fashion styling isn’t just a series of career hops; it's a deep dive into her passion for turning everyday moments into something extraordinary.

Driven by memories of her father’s unconventional gifting - think dishwashers and vacuum cleaners - Sarah set out to transform gift-giving into an art form filled with creativity and flair.

As we peel back the layers of her brand’s story, Sarah’s focus on meaningful community engagement, a cunning marketing strategy, and her future plans for interactive cooking classes sketch out a brand that’s as dynamic as it is heartfelt.

Here’s the interview:

Hi Sarah! From event management to fashion styling, your journey is a fascinating adventure! How did these experiences shape the story of Sarah Urban?

Although my background seems quite diverse, I think it has all come together to allow me to form Sarah Urban. The passion for beautiful things, the love of cooking and entertaining, and above all, the enjoyment of bringing people together and making them feel good and special. Whether it’s a dinner at a beautiful table to enjoy each other’s company, a gift to make them feel special, or a pair of earrings and great bag that someone feels good in - the one consistent thing is they all make people smile, and for me there is nothing better.

Let's talk inspiration! What moment sparked the idea for creating a haven of thoughtful gifts?

Well the main inspiration was the fairly average gifts my dad gave my mother - I am talking a dishwasher, men’s hair grooming kit and a vacuum - so not ideal, but he did make it all up with a car one year.

I also found many gifts all seemed to be the same, I wanted to create gift boxes that offered fun, diverse options, that weren’t just some tea and chocolate (mind you we so have those too!)

Gift-giving can be a maze. What made you want to sprinkle a little more joy and thoughtfulness into that experience?

I didn’t want our gift boxes to be just another box with stuff in it, I wanted the packaging to be thoughtful, with matching cards to write the notes, for the tissue to be special and for the bands around the boxes to be pretty - all of which was achieved by our designer Ellen, one talented artist! We wanted to create an experience from the moment a gift box is received, with the difference in the thoughtful details of each element.

We also have a card for each gift box that tells the customer about each product, we can add hand written notes and offer same day delivery.

Building a brand from scratch can be quite a mission. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced along the way and how did you navigate them?

Oh to answer this would truly require a War and Peace manuscript! Probably the biggest challenge is that I dreamed big and wasn’t going to be satisfied until I had achieved it all.
The death of my mother and covid didn’t help, so I kept thinking what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, and that I had to do the journey.

So to overcome it I dug my heels in, worked crazy hours, hired some very talented people to help, and above all I believed in myself and my vision and DID NOT give up. But believe me there were plenty of days it did cross my mind.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I get up early, which is easy as the cat seems to be my 5:30/6AM alarm. Breakfast, tea and
paperwork from 6 until 9 most days.

Then I often hit the yoga studio and get to the office more around 10.30, which gives my girls time to get things done before I disrupt them with more ideas. Always more ideas!

Orders get packed, stock gets ordered and customers are served in store.

There are usually daily brain storms about how to navigate Meta and Google advertising, and we often have lunch together which is really nice.

The afternoon is more of the same and now a lot of my focus all about how we get the brand out there more – working on the brand, not so much in it. Thinking about how we can collaborate with brands, and I spend time each day looking for my ultimate flagship store, where it will really finally come together in one and the dream will be realised.

Let’s talk strategy. Can you talk to us about your marketing and PR efforts? How have you spread the word about Sarah Urban and created buzz around your brand?

To be honest we need to work more on our PR and marketing.

I wanted to get the brand vision and the website to a certain point before reaching out, it’s a tough market and we wanted to be prepared so we could cut through.

In the mean time, we have two pop-up stores in South Melbourne which are getting us lots of attention. Our first step towards PR has been Flaunter which is a great, having a trusted place the media can find us and we can approach them.

When I did Sarah Vintage years ago it was easy, there wasn’t the competition, you knew all the mag editors and half the time they came to you. Now it’s so different, especially with TikTok, Instagram, influencers etc – a whole new world for me.

Our next step is to find a part time in house person to help – so if you know anyone please reach out.

Building a brand often involves collaboration and teamwork. Can you tell us about the people who have been instrumental in bringing Sarah Urban to life and supporting its growth?

My team have been the most incredible people to work with, we all get along, and from the start they have GOT what I am trying to achieve. We all brainstorm well together and they have been instrumental in making it happen.

Community is at the heart of Sarah Urban! How do you foster connections and create a sense of belonging among your customers?

I naturally love people and love networking, and try to hire staff (especially in our retail spaces) that are the same, so the customer has a positive experience.

Without customers you don’t have a brand, so we want to make them feel special, to fulfil their needs and give that little bit extra, and online we try to get the orders to the customer as quickly as possible. And like everyone we sometimes get things wrong, but that’s when I have made longstanding customers because we own up and we fix it- and fix it fast!

Sneak peek time! Any juicy plans or surprises on the horizon?

The big plan is a new store with a kitchen so we can add the cooking classes to finally pull it all together. It would be an interactive experience where you meet people, learn how to cook dinner so you can get family and friends together, get inspiration for your home and entertaining, and pick up a gift for a loved one!

That sounds amazing! So tell me, if you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, what would it be?

Never ever give up on your Dream….

Spotlight On: Sarah Green from Sarah Urban