IT WOULD be fair to say there isn’t just a creative streak running through 28-year-old Sarah Grant, there’s a river of creativity coursing through her veins.

The project manager who went to Prince Henry’s High School in Evesham, studied Design for Exhibitions and Museums at the University of Lincoln and went on to get a job in Doncaster as a junior museum designer. She subsequently qualified in event management and wedding planning.

But as the recession took a grip of Britain and it was more and more difficult for museums to get funding, Sarah decided to move back to the Vale of Evesham and started doing interior styling freelance work for Ideal Homes, World of Interiors Magazine and the Laura Ashley Home magazines.

Now she works as a project manager for Mayridge, at Salford Priors, near Evesham, which designs and builds exhibition stands and runs corporate events.

While Sarah, who lives in Offenham, really enjoys her work, there was until recently a part of her that remained unfulfilled. But now, thanks to her grandfather, she has been able to start realising a long-held dream.

“I have always wanted to be independent and to run my own business. That dream has always been there in the background. I set up a vintage jewellery shop and ran that for a while and I like the idea of reusing and recycling things.

“I kept talking about setting up a business but I was not doing anything about it. I had this dream of running my own business but I did not know what it would be,” she said.

Sadly her grandfather Charles Peter Grant died last year and left her some money in his will. That was the motivation she needed to realise her dream at last and she decided to invest it in setting up her own eco event decorations company.

The idea is to supply reusable eco-friendly decorations for events like weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, hen parties and any other event – indoors or outdoors. She is now running Good Life Company, which is also online, alongside her full-time job with Mayridge.

“My grandfather died last year and he left me a bit of money and that was what kick-started it. It was the motivation to do it. I knew I loved the creative design side of things and I knew I could manage projects,” added Sarah.

Sarah uses British suppliers for the decorations and accessories which include tissue paper fans, pom-poms and balls, colourful paper bunting, chalkboard gift tags and hessian cutlery pouches - to name but a few of the products available. “I try to make sure all the products are recyclable or reusable.”

These simple decorations, which hark back to the days when people created home-made decorations for Christmas and other events, combined with Sarah’s design and styling expertise can produce breath-taking effects.

She began her business by selling the decorations at craft fairs and experimenting with products to see which ones worked well together.

“They are simple but they have a great impact when they come together. They are thoughtfully put together but not too fussy. They can transform a place quite quickly and they are not expensive.”

Sarah decided she also wanted to offer customers the benefit of her design and styling experience as well as just providing the decorations for those wanting just to buy them. She offers a unique, tailor-made service for all customers ranging from people with the smallest budgets to those wishing to splash their cash.

So far most of her customers have come via personal recommendation but she also works with other professionals like florists who are working on a particular event like a wedding.

“I am trying to make it very personal. Everything I do is tailored to the individual customer and it does not have to be a big event,” said Sarah. She has even done a funeral. “The people who asked me to do it were really pleased as it made it a bit different.”

She hopes one day the business will develop enough for it to become her full-time job. “I would love it to be a full-time business and my dream is to have a little studio where I can work. I would also like to design a range of decorations myself and either make them or get them made for me.”

And what would her grandfather think about the way she has used his generous gift?

“I think my grandfather would be quite proud. Sometimes if I am hesitant I think of him and know he would have told me to get on with it. I wanted to put the money towards something that meant something to me.

“My grandmother Shirley Grant was really pleased about it and I would have regretted it if I had not done it.”