From her home in Riverchapel, Sally Sharp has built something truly special — a creative business called Sharp and Sassy that designs fun, educational, and sustainable activity packs and colouring books for children.
When asked when she launched the business, Sally proudly shared her business was launched on March 4th 2024 and that it’s still in its early but exciting stages.
Sally’s business Sharp & Sassy began as a labour of love inspired by her daughter’s early learning journey. She wanted to find engaging Irish-language games and activities — but soon realised how limited the options were.
“I had my daughter in 2021 and am raising her to be a Gaeilgeoir. I would try to find fun and affordable games and activities for her in Irish but there wasn’t a huge amount to choose from so I started making things for her. The first was colouring pages of different things I was teaching her like the alphabet, numbers, animals etc which became the ‘Colour Me’ books, and the activity worksheets I created are now part of the Match Together activity packs. I made a few little activity packs for friends and family that were really well received, and everyone was commenting on how there was a huge gap in the market and that’s how Sharp and Sassy came to be!”
As Sally started developing her idea, she received invaluable support from the Wexford Local Enterprise Office. She says one of their programmes helped her gain the confidence and knowledge needed to turn her creative passion into a viable business.
“Wexford Local Enterprise Office really helped me get set up and I did their Start Your Own Business course with Cosmo Mellon, and it was honestly the best thing I did as it covered so much ground that’s specific to small business owners in Ireland. My daughter is now 4 and my niece is almost 7 and they inspire me to create new activity packs. If it’s hard to get something that I think would be great for them, I make it!”
Her products are designed to blend fun with learning. Sustainability is another big part of that mission, she says:
“My product catalogue includes a range of activity packs and colouring books for ECCE & primary aged children, with the focus on fun, educational and sustainability. If your child is learning their letters & numbers or practising reading and writing, beginning to count or doing their times tables, or just has a love of colouring, there’s an activity pack that will suit! I have also ensured that they are all available in both English and Irish,” Sally told Wexford Weekly.
Because Sally creates, prints, and assembles everything herself, she’s able to offer fully customisable products tailored to each child’s needs.
“As I create, print and make everything myself, everything is completely customisable and can be made bespoke to a child’s needs such as the Routine & Reward charts to help get organised can be created with your individual family’s schedule.”
She’s also gearing up for an exciting new product launch in November. It’s one that promises to challenge and engage older children while teaching them something unique.
“I’m very excited to launch my next product in November which is better suited to older children as it’s Break The Code puzzles that will help the codebreaker learn the alphabet in Irish Sign Language, Braille, Morse Code and Ogham writing! They come in different topics such as animals, science and inventions and once cracked will reveal interesting facts about that topic!”
Like many small business owners, Sally has faced her fair share of challenges. One of the earliest came when a key local retail outlet for small crafters closed down.
“The first big challenge I think came last year with the closure of the Gorey Visitor’s Centre. The staff were incredible and did manage to keep it open in a new venue a lot longer than anyone thought possible. It was a hub for local crafters to sell their products, and I think a lot of small local businesses felt that hit. I still don’t understand why it had to close,” she told Wexford Weekly.
Beyond that, managing every aspect of her business alone — from design to packaging to social media — has been both a rewarding and exhausting experience:
“The main challenge I have is that it’s not possible to compete with the big companies that have their development and design teams, big production lines, marketing teams and everything else that goes with running a business. With Sharp and Sassy, it’s all just me! I design, print, laminate, cut, and package everything together (occasionally with my husband’s help!) using sustainably sourced materials and then photograph it all and create posts for my website and social media! I love it but it’s hard to juggle all the hats at times. If you look at my socials, it’s quite clear to see the periods that I’m busy designing and making products because often I just don’t have the time to create and post content as well. I love all aspects of my business but sometimes I wish I had the power to stop time so I can get everything done!”
In terms of sales, most of her success now comes from her online presence — though she still values local connections and stockists.
“This year it has predominantly been through my website, or people messaging through my social media pages, though the newly opened Toddle On Play Café is now stocking my products which has also brought in a few sales! Next month, I will be doing a couple of Christmas markets which I’m looking forward to.”
However, a move to online sales wasn’t a choice. It became a necessity due to health challenges that made market setups physically difficult. Despite that, Sally found ways to adapt and continue thriving.
“Another huge challenge I’ve had to overcome is the fact that I’ve unfortunately had to move from in-person craft fair sales to a predominantly online business. Due to some health issues, I struggle with the physical aspects of carrying all my stock along with a table to set up and break down a stall at a market and I need someone to help me which isn’t feasible every other weekend. By about this time last year it was clear that if I wanted to keep the business going, I had to move to online sales and essentially start over! I’m a chatty person and I really miss that in-person interaction with customers.”
“Also, people tend to be more trusting when they can see and hold a product before buying it so making that jump to online has been difficult. I was fairly active on the craft fair scene last year and as I do free local deliveries, I will get previous customers coming back to order online and I appreciate them so much as that’s who has kept me going this year as it’s harder to build that trust with new customers online. I’m slowly and steadily growing sharpandsassy.ie and being named a finalist in the Reinvention with Attitude category in the Irish Micro Business Awards felt really special because it’s recognition for all the hard work that I do in my little office that nobody but my family sees! I’m also very proud to also be a finalist in the Planet Green Champion category.”
Finally, Sally shared some heartfelt advice for anyone dreaming of starting their own business. Her words reflect both her practical experience and her gratitude for the local support she’s received.
“I think the best advice is to speak to your Local Enterprise Office or check out their resources online as there’s so many fantastic classes at a subsidised rate. The Start Your Own Business course was only €25 really laid the groundwork and gave me a great roadmap to get going. I can’t count the amount of social media adverts I see of people offering expensive courses and most are also geared towards a UK or US market which has different laws and tax rates and isn’t all that useful for an Irish business.”
“When you’re starting out, you don’t have any spare money to be wasting! LEO’s Start Your Own Business is about 24 hours’ worth of classes over 5 weeks and I learned so much and everything was relevant to Irish businesses! I still check out what classes LEO are offering because they have ones to help with SEO, Google Analytics, utilising Social Media better etc and they’re all really affordable and full of really helpful advice,” Sally said.
Alongside the Start Your Own Business course, she recommends a book that people should read if they’re considering starting a business in Ireland:
“It’s also worth checking out Brian O’ Kane’s book Starting A Business In Ireland — it’s another great resource and again relevant to setting up in Ireland! Oh, and this probably goes without saying, but set up a good financial filing system early on so it’s not stressful when it comes to filing your tax return!”
From designing for her daughter to becoming an award-nominated entrepreneur, Sally Sharp has built a business rooted in creativity, education, and heart.
And with every pack she prints, cuts, and laminates from her Riverchapel home, she proves that passion and persistence can turn any small idea into something truly special.
Jason Redmond
From Gorey, Jason is the owner of Wexford Weekly. He is also a post-primary English and History teacher.
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