Sarita Watts

I have a full degree in Graphic and Product Design and before getting the Design degree, I studied 2 years of undergraduate Maths degree. During my degree, I worked as a one-to-one Maths teacher for Primary and High School children.

In 2007 I went on Maternity Leave and didn't go back to work again until 2014, when my 3 children were a bit older. I started my own business as a Party Planner in October/2014 and I have been working from home and managing my own business. I've been working part time, so I was still able to do school runs and be available for my children when they needed.

As I am self employed, I have been doing all the admin work for my business. I looked after the marketing, customer service and financial side of the business. I have been doing my own self assessment since I registered my company and since then I have also been dealing with my husband's tax return. 

My husband works full time and needs to complete tax return for the work benefits and tax relief he gets, so I've been learning own my own about self assessment, taxes and pensions, so I have been able to deal with HMRC on behalf of my husband's taxes. Since I started to deal with my husband's tax return, my passion about Maths has returned. I am doing an online course about UK taxes, and I would like to start a career on that area.

I am a responsible and hard work person, who is now able to have a full time work commitment since my children are in High School and are more independent. I am flexible, happy to learn new things and because of my background in Graphic and Product Design, I have a good eye for details and for problem solving situations.

I am available to start to work anytime, since I am planning to stop working for my own Design business. 

My Cup of Tea Parties, Ipswich

October 2014 – present

Graphic Designer 

I am currently working as a self employed graphic designer.

I make personalised paper goods for parties and events where I design and produce my own products. I sell the products in online like eBay, Etsy and Instagram.

As a self employed, I am responsible for my company Self Assessment, generating and sending out invoices, recording expenses and all day-to-day administration work.

Glowcroft Limited, Needham Market 

January 2006 – present

Graphic Designer 

I am currently working as a graphic designer for a medium sized packaging company. As part of the Glowcroft Design team I report to the Marketing Manager.

My role is to support the Glowcroft Design function in creating professional and effective design projects throughout the design and production process, and maintain the company’s already growing customer base.  My day to day duties comprise of designing and creating corporate and brand identity concepts, designing the layout of flyers, newsletters, labels, leaflets, banners and stationery and liaising with printing companies. In completing these tasks I am required to use QuarkXpress, Adobe Photoshop CS and Adobe Illustrator CS2 programmes on an Apple Macintosh system.  Currently the team is managing ten key accounts containing about twenty five different projects. 

Major Achievements:

• Improved the office operations and made the design process more efficient by creating a work plan to prioritise work load.
• Implemented a computer based filing system that enabled anyone I the office to check the process any given project.
• Improved my technical knowledge of the computer design systems. I have also demonstrated an advanced knowledge of QuarkXpress which I have shared with my colleagues. 

Elizabeth Marsh Floral Design, London 

January 2005 – July 2005 

Florist Designer Assistant 

Producing and delivering arrangements of flowers for houses, offices, restaurants, parties, weddings and exhibition around London.

A1 Design & Inovacao, Brazil

September 2001 – March 2004

Planning and carrying out residential and commercial projects in Interior Design from own office. Developing the design process and co-ordinating any design work done by suppliers in Florianopolis.

SENAC (National Service of Commercial Apprenticeship), Brazil         

September 2002 – March 2004

Teaching Project, Technical and Furniture Designing in a technical course of Interior Design.

CRIART (Decorative Arts School), Brazil                                       

October 2003 – March 2004

Teaching Project in an Interior Design and Decoration course

SENAC (National Service of Commercial Apprenticeship), Brazil                

April 2003 -  June 2003

Teaching the use of colours, materials, furniture style, lighting and ergonomics in an Interior Design course.

Colegio Solucao (Solucao School), Brazil                                      

April 2002 – June 2003

Teaching Design foundation classes in preparation for an undergraduate course in Industrial and Graphic Design.

Mathematics Teacher, Brazil                                                    

August 1995 – December 2001

Teaching Mathematics to students aged between 6 and 16 years old on a one to one basis.

Eliane Revestimentos Ceramicos (Ceramic Coating Industry), Brazil            

April 2001 – July 2001

Trainee in the area of Graphic Design. Selecting ceramic coatings and developing computer designs to illustrate detailed representation of selected materials final arrangement in a room.

Leister Furniture and Design Shop, Brazil                                      

September 1999 – December 1999 

Trainee in the area of Furniture Design. Planning decorative projects, plans, sections, elevations, details, perspective and rendering.

BA in Industrial and Graphic Design 

State University of Santa Catarina in Brazil 

July 1997 to December 2001 

Undergraduate course in Mathematics 

Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil 

July 1995 to July 1997 

Secondary School, Brazil 

Studied: English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, History, Geography, Arts and Portuguese