I'm Sarah... the word builder behind Curio Creative.
Sarah Winspear UK Alternative Brand Designer and Photographer
Here at Curio, my passion is the building of immersive worlds for founders and small businesses who want their brand to feel distinctive and woven with a rich tapestry of storytelling narrative.
the lore around my approach
When I was eleven I watched Lord of the Rings and something shifted. I knew from that moment I wanted to transport people. I just didn't know how yet.
I took acting lessons trying to find my way in. Studied scenography at university (design for theatre and film), where i learned world-building principles and fell in love with integrating video into live performance, something rich, and textural in the depth and possibility film held. Hooked, I decided to study Masters in film and media production, specialising in cinematography, screenwriting and directing. To pay the bills while I studied I worked in art departments — set dressing, graphic design, building other people's worlds.
When I graduated I went full time — BBC, Netflix, Channel 4. I loved it. But I always longed to tell my own stories.
WHERE
BRANDS
BECOME
CINEMATIC
WORLDS
So I applied to iShorts — a fund for the most promising filmmakers in the North of England. Out of over 300 applicants, I was one of ten selected. I wrote and directed The Princess Under the Stairs — a dark fantasy film about escapism and childhood trauma, alongside a cast and crew of 35. It felt like everything I was made to do.
But the schedules were gruelling. Trips that lasted six months. I was burning out. And I wanted to settle. Start a family. So I made the decision to step back from a career I loved, because life was asking for something different.
Then Covid hit. I had my little boy and no clear path forward.
I bought an iPad and started illustrating.
What began as Little Beasties — hand-illustrated alphabet prints for children — grew into something I hadn't planned. I started designing logos and seamless patterns for small businesses. Discovered heat press printing. Opened for orders one night a month and had to close for the rest of it just to keep up. Beasties grew to 25,000 followers.
As my children started school, the business grew up with me. Little Beasties became Beasties — dark academia, witchcraft, magic. The things I'd always been drawn to, finally given space.
And then it clicked.
The thing I loved most wasn't the products. It was building the world. The storytelling. The community. The craft of making something that meant something.
Curio Creative is where everything finally makes sense — the film background, the set design, the illustration, the brand building. It was always leading here. I just needed to live it first.
Welcome to my curious little world, I can’t wait to help bring yours to life.
What began as Little Beasties — hand-illustrated alphabet prints for children — grew into something I hadn't planned. I started designing logos and seamless patterns for small businesses. Discovered heat press printing. Opened for orders one night a month and had to close for the rest of it just to keep up. Beasties grew to 25,000 followers.
As my children started school, the business grew up with me. Little Beasties became Beasties — dark academia, witchcraft, magic. The things I'd always been drawn to, finally given space.
And then it clicked.
The thing I loved most wasn't the products. It was building the world. The storytelling. The community. The craft of making something that meant something.
Curio Creative is where everything finally makes sense — the film background, the set design, the illustration, the brand building. It was always leading here. I just needed to live it first.
Welcome to my curious little world, I can’t wait to help bring yours to life.
