Jessie Danger, a former resident of St George’s Terrace and Holly Avenue in Jesmond, is aiming to expand her eco-friendly wrapping business.

Danger, 23, a Newcastle University geography and business graduate, started her first business after graduating in July 2020.

The business, named after its owner, sells reusable fabric wrapping and recently expanded to sell a variety of eco-friendly gifts, with the ethos that “small changes make big differences for our earth”. She sells her designs on her website, as well as having three stockists, in Leamington Spa, Lutterworth, and her hometown, Rugby.

Danger told JesmondLocal that one of her primary values is sustainability. “I don’t want it to be a chore that someone chooses a sustainable product. It should be a nice choice that they make,” she said.

She adds that this is not at the cost of style and design. “All the reusable fabric wrapping that I make is hand-printed, and also completely handmade,” she said.

“I sell reusable fabric, gift bags, and wrapping cloths, with the idea that they’re reused either by the recipient themselves or passed on to wrap another gift in. I want it to be sustainable, that is the key part. But alongside that is my real interest and drive to make it stylish.”

After the success of her business, online and in-store, Danger wants to reconnect with her former home in Jesmond. “I would love to be able to have new customers, have some stockists in Newcastle but also collaborate with other shops and designers in Newcastle,” she said.

Danger said what she really valued about Jesmond was “the independent shops and cafes. I just thought, if it’s all chains, it doesn’t have the same feeling to it. And I think Jesmond was made special by having the independent places there too. I think it shows that you need independent businesses to give a different cultural feeling to a place.

“I think it’s a very special place to me,” she added. “I’d like local businesses to reach out to me to see if we can work together. I’m very open to those sorts of ideas, particularly if they fit with my values; sustainability and stylish products are what I’m always looking for.”

Danger said it had always been a personal ambition to set up a business, but whilst at university, she imagined herself getting a job after graduation, and then “maybe setting up a business in 10 years’ time.”

The coronavirus pandemic sped up Danger’s business journey, as she told JesmondLocal. “I tried really hard in third year to apply for jobs,” she said. “I got quite far in some of my applications, but I didn’t get anything. And basically, then lockdown happened, and I came home. And then suddenly, I sort of thought, ‘Okay, is this my chance to actually do something that I was kind of too scared to do before, and actually go for it?'”

Danger emphasises the huge impact of Newcastle University’s Careers service and their START-UP team on her success. “My business would not be what it is right now if it wasn’t for their help. I’ve got a digital marketing intern who’s doing 50 hours work for me, paid through the university,” she said.

She also received one-to-one business advice from the university after graduating in 2020 and they have continued to support her through her business journey, connecting her with other start-ups, and giving her a grant to continue to grow.