Member Spotlight: Sara Baldwin, EO Southeast Virginia
February 9, 2017
“Look around. Do you have six or seven friends that have a business that’s the same size as yours that you meet with monthly? If you don’t, then you definitely should join EO,” says Sara Baldwin. Sara joined Entrepreneurs’ Organization more than five years ago, and her only regret is not joining sooner. Learn more about EO today!
“It’s kind of lonely running a business and I didn’t know very many other people who also ran businesses,” she explains. “Like many people in EO, I’m a reluctant leader. We find ourselves in these positions and we’re not quite sure how we got here. Some of us are just in the right place at the right time and all of the sudden we have 50 employees, or 75 employees, or even 10, and we haven’t been trained to be managers or balance sheet readers. Interacting with other EO members gives you on-the-job training because everybody else has been there.”
Sara made her first mosaic design, a mural of Eve in the Garden of Eden, while earning her Master degree at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, the thought of a mosaic company seemed like a pipe dream. She took a chance and launched her own company, New Ravenna, with a handful of artisans. Twenty-five years later, New Ravenna employs more than 110 people, spans three city blocks in historic Exmore, Virginia, and leads the nation in designing and manufacturing custom mosaics in stone and glass. After enjoying the early successes of New Ravenna, Sara also founded Sara Baldwin Design, which specializes in edited collections of product designs.
“It is our constant thrill to be on the cutting edge of design, using both traditional mosaic methods and modern ones, such as the use of waterjet technology, which has brought us into a new era of stone and glass mosaic. I work with a close team of masterful designers; through years of working together, their resourcefulness has reached the point where they can practically read my mind – a rare blessing,” says Sara.
Sara has created mosaic designs for clients such as Tom Hanks, Madonna and the DuPont family, as well as retailers such as Waterworks, Ann Sacks, and KOHLER. Her breathtaking designs can be seen in homes, hotels, restaurants, casinos and businesses around the world. She continues to introduce new product lines each year. Customers can request custom designs, or select from existing designs, borders and field tiles in the company’s catalogs.
Learn more about the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and apply for membership today!