Woman who left Royal Mail job for Coventry Market has ‘never looked back’

A Bedworth woman said quitting her job three years ago to live her dream at Coventry Market was the ‘best decision she has ever made.’ Sarah Bodger took a leap of faith and decided to set up Ragdoll Crafts after she was forced to leave her £23,000-a-year role at Royal Mail.

Sarah said she worked at Parcelforce for two years before moving to Royal Mail. She stayed in that role for around 18 months but was forced to shield when COVID struck in 2020. It meant that when the 49-year-old returned to her job, her asthma had become ‘much worse.’

In 2021, Sarah was forced to leave her job and was given an ill health redundancy package from Royal Mail. After several months of contemplating what came next, the 49-year-old decided to ‘follow her dream’ of opening her own business, which celebrated its third anniversary in May.

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Sarah launched Ragdoll Crafts at Coventry Market in May 2021. She sells a range of knitting supplies as well as hand-knitted and hand-crocheted clothing, and described taking the huge leap of faith as the ‘best decision I have ever made.’

Speaking to CoventryLive, Sarah said: “I had to take an ill health redundancy because I was not physically able to do the job anymore, so Royal Mail gave me a redundancy package, and I thought: ‘What do I do now?’ I wanted to follow my dream, so I opened a stall at Coventry Market.

“After a year of trading, we expanded into the stall that we are in now, so we doubled in size after a year! We specialise in knitting and crochet supplies because that is where my passion is, as well as lots of different brands of yarn. I do import some brands that are not readily available in the UK.”

She continued: “We also stock a nice range of ready-made hand-knitted or hand-crocheted garments. I have got a couple of ladies that help me keep that well stocked up.”

Sarah worked for Parcelforce and Royal Mail for around four years but said she ‘wanted to do what she loved.’ She said: “I have always been a big crafter, I have knitted and crocheted since I was about six years old.

“It is something I have always done, my big passion is knitting socks and it is my favourite thing to knit, so we have got a wide selection of sock yarns because I really love socks! We are becoming quite known for the fact that we have a lot of choice in sock yarns, and I have some people that travel from as far afield as Northamptonshire just to come and buy the sock yarns, which is fabulous.”

Sarah has been at Coventry Market for three years and said she has ‘loved every minute.’ Smiling, the 49-year-old said: “I absolutely love it!

“It is the best decision I have ever made! It does not feel like work, it just feels like having fun, and on my work keys, I have even got a keyring that says: ‘Take me to my happy place!’ and this is my happy place.”

She added: “I do most of my shopping at Coventry Market now because you can get anything you need, and the comradery between all the traders is fabulous. I chose it based on the cost, but it is the best decision, much better than being in a little shop tucked out the way because everyone is lovely.”

Customers have also been loving what Ragdoll Crafts brings to Coventry Market, with Sarah saying: “We have a lot of regular customers, which is wonderful!

“We even have customers who have been visiting Coventry for the day that live further afield, and when they get back home, they have contacted me to buy more which is wonderful! I have a website, but if people just contact me I will also do mail orders, so we have recently sent orders to as far as Liverpool and Devon.”

Visit Ragdoll Crafts at Coventry Market, Market Way, Coventry, CV1 3HT.

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