Alison Purdy – Glass and Mirror Designer - Reflecting on the past and gazing into the future.
We talk to business owner and entrepreneur Alison Purdy on her 25-year business journey and how support from Let’s Do Business Group lit up her path of success.
Name: Alison Purdy
Business: Glass & Mirror Designer
Location: Hastings, East Sussex
Experience: 25+ years in glass design, specializing in mirrors
Unique Selling Points: Sustainable materials, locally inspired designs, bespoke creations
Alison Purdy is a Glass and Mirror Designer from Hastings who makes decorative and unique design windows and mirrors. With a passion for the local area, and a nontraditional technique for producing her creations, Alison offers a range of beautiful products from souvenir pocket mirrors to bespoke commissioned design. Being the perfect blend between craft maker and designer, If you are looking for something special and unique, an Alison Purdy creation is a great way to add some flair to your home or garden.
Alison has always had a passion for all things creative, but really found her path in glass during her Art Foundation course at Hastings College which she then nurtured by studying Glass Design at Staffordshire University.
“Glass feels like a bit of a forgotten art. There aren’t many places left where you can still study glass. I fell in love with stained glass at college. I loved using colour, mixing them together and seeing how the light would reflect and shine through”
Graduating in 1998 she then set up a small business, while also working part time at BHS and later on for Kaleidoglass, a glass company in Tunbridge Wells. In 2003, Alison then made the journey into full entrepreneurship and self-employment when she was unfortunately made redundant. This fuelled her drive to create her own path and funded the creation of a garden workshop.
With little business experience, Alison knew she needed guidance and she came across Let’s Do Business Group (LDBG), then known as 1066 Enterprise. Alison enrolled in a three-day business startup course where she learned the basics of writing a business plan, marketing strategies, and the fundamentals of running a business. This early support gave Alison the foundation she needed to officially get her glass and mirror design business off the starting blocks.
Diversification and Adapting to Market Trends
Over the years, Alison has expanded her product offerings to include both standard mirrors and commissioned, bespoke designs, ranging from as little as £3.99 to larger scale bespoke designs worth “000’s. She forged partnerships with local retail outlets such as Turn the Tide and the Shipwreck Museum in Hastings, which allowed her to access her ideal customers—tourists and locals looking for unique home decor. In addition to her retail collaborations, Alison participated in local fairs and began selling through her website, Etsy, and social media channels. Recognising the demand for Hastings-themed souvenirs, she launched a series of mirrors that embodied local landmarks, allowing tourists to "take a piece of Hastings home."
The COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 presented Alison with significant challenges. With tourism and retail halted, she was forced to reconsider her approach. Instead of pausing production, Alison seized the opportunity to develop a new line of garden mirrors using reclaimed wood from Hastings Pier and other local buildings. This shift catered to customers who were spending more time improving their gardens during the pandemic.
“Lockdown made everything a bit crazy. My usual channels came to a halt, and I needed to take a step back and find ways to still access my market. I found myself going from making all these bespoke decorative windows to suddenly mucking around with gnarly old bits of wood to make garden mirrors. I enjoyed it though, it’s good to give the wood a second lifetime, and have a story behind it.”
Lockdown also encouraged Alison to strengthen her e-commerce channels. She had long considered this pivot, but the pandemic provided the ideal time to implement it. As a result, she expanded her digital presence, marketing her new garden mirrors and her existing line of products through online platforms.
Seeing Clearly
Although Alison had diversified her product range and established herself in the local market, she faced new challenges as her business grew. One of the biggest issues is being able to expand beyond East Sussex. While Alison had a good packaging system, she has struggled to find a reliable courier for her larger items, limiting her ability to sell further afield. This logistical hurdle makes it difficult to scale her business beyond local customers. Part of the solution to this has been an evolvement of her product range in 2024 to include pocket mirrors. These are lightweight, portable, and perfect for tourists, giving Alison the scope to increase her range of designs and customer reach indefinitely.
A glimpse at the future
With 25 years of experience, Alison’s primary goal is to streamline her operations. Running multiple product lines and managing communications across various channels—Facebook, Etsy, WhatsApp, and more—has made it difficult to stay organised. Alison aims to consolidate her communications and simplify her product offerings to create a more focused business model.
Alison also plans to expand her range of pocket mirrors, which are not only easy to ship but also allow for creativity in themes and designs, giving ger access to a broader audience across the UK. She prides herself on producing items that have a purpose and functionality whilst still looking beautiful.
Recognising that help can come in a multitude of ways, and that learning from others is invaluable, Alison reached back out to Let’s Do Business Group to join the GAIN Growth and Innovation Network, which launched in Hastings in 2024. The GAIN program, designed with participant input, provided a fresh twist on traditional networking. It focused less on sales and more on peer-to-peer learning, where business owners could work through their shared challenges with expert guidance.
“I thought it looked interesting because I’ve done a lot of networking, but I don’t find it particularly fruitful, as they can be quite sales led. I liked the look of GAIN as it seemed to be more of a business support group, where we could learn from each other.”
Alison Purdy’s journey from redundancy to successful business owner demonstrates resilience, adaptability, and a commitment to creativity. Over the years, Let's Do Business Group has played a critical role in supporting her growth. From the early days of their start up course to the recent GAIN program, LDBG has provided Alison with the tools, networks, and guidance to navigate the evolving landscape of running a business in the creative industry.
By staying true to her passion for glass design, adapting to market demands, and leveraging strategic business support, Alison has built a brand that is sustainable, local, and innovative proving that with the right support, creative entrepreneurs can thrive even in challenging times.
To find out more about Alison Purdy – visit her website on https://www.purdyshop.com/
Alisons Advice to Entrepreneurs
“Always look at the perceived value of what you're producing, is it something that people value? You want to create something that your customers will value and will want to invest in.
Also don’t forget the middle picture. In the bigger picture, everything seems insignificant. If you go the other way, you get bogged down in the details and you find yourself procrastinating and not getting anywhere. It’s in the middle ground that you pay attention to the detail, but also look at it more objectively.”