Sweet! Thanking William (and Kate) for pottery boom

Sweet William, a ceramics business set up a year ago, is one of those thanking Prince William for his timely proposal.

The success of its range of Royal Wedding mugs emblazoned with slogans like "I was saving myself for Harry anyway", "I was Fergie's plus one" and "If only I'd gone to St Andrew's" have seen entrepreneur Emma Wood's first-year revenues soar to £75,000.

"I've earned an extra 40 orders a day thanks to the Royal Wedding boost," says Wood. "I've been so busy making the orders over the past month that it hasn't yet sunk in how amazing it has been for the business.

"Our mugs appeared on London Tonight, and scores of shops have since been in touch about stocking our ceramics. Hits to the website have increased tenfold, and sales have gone through the roof."

Two years ago, Wood was still working in the City as an events manager at a big law firm. She had loved pottery lessons at school and enrolled on ceramic courses while still working, and one day decided to quit. "I realised it was time to move on when a partner asked me to set up an event, and whereas in the past I was always excited, I thought, 'Oh God not another one'. After 10 years, I wanted to do something else."

So at the start of last year Wood, who is 35, began to make ceramics full time. She sold her house in Blackheath and used £10,000 of the profits to install two kilns and a studio in the garage of her new home in Greenwich.

She bought plain, unglazed crockery, then glazed, fired, hand-painted and re-fired mugs, dog bowls, teapots and more with pictures and slogans, and sold them at a pitch at Greenwich market.

Her ideas came from family sayings, jokes and banter with friends. "The dog mugs and bowls - and the company name - were inspired by William, my black Labrador," Wood explains. "I share him with an ex and we frequently debate which of us he prefers, so 'The dog loves me best' was made just to annoy him. It's turned out to be my bestseller."

Sweet William's sales rocketed when, in June last year, Wood paid £2000 to a web designer to set up an online shop. She advertised on blogs, and orders flooded in.

But she still trades at Greenwich market every weekend. "I like meeting customers - working alone in my garage every day can be pretty lonely," she says. "Plus it's good for market research. I can make a few pieces of a new design and test how well they sell. I made a mug for a friend whose grandma always said 'Just half a cup for me, dear' when asked if she wanted tea. I put one on the stall and was amazed by how many people said 'That's what so and so always says.' It was really popular."

Wood is now looking at firms in Stoke -on-Trent to outsource the production of her designs. "It's been fantastic making all the ceramics from home and I've been able to keep costs to a minimum. But between painting, packing and going to the post office, I'm working 15 hours a day and struggling to keep up with demand." She is now also targeting Regent Street department store Liberty and other shops to take her designs.

In the next year, she hopes to employ another member of staff and rent premises. She says: "I can't believe how fast everything has panned out. The PR exposure and sales from the Royal Wedding have fast-tracked my business. It's been like a second Christmas."