“As a brand person, I really notice details and appreciate the vibe of places and products”.
Sarah Saxty knows what it takes to stand out from the crowd. The marketing and branding expert has helped create buzz around projects for Kate Hudson, coached start-ups from concept to launch, and built a successful fashion company of her own.
Sarah has made a career out of highlighting how products make you feel, and she values brands that speak to her beyond functionality or surface level aesthetics.
Basically, it takes something special to catch Sarah’s attention.
So, as you can imagine, we were pretty pleased when Sarah purchased a Marly self-watering planter for her beachside bungalow.
We were even more pleased to grab 10 minutes of her time.
Sarah invited us for coffee close to her home in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles where we sat down to discuss all things gardening, life, and Marly.
Check out the full conversation below 👇
Hey Sarah, thanks for joining us today! First up, could you provide a mini bio on yourself and your background?
I’m Sax, an Aussie who moved to NY for “1-2 years” in 2012, and stayed for nine, living in Manhattan walk ups and a Brooklyn loft, absorbing the magic of the city and launching my first business - a fashion brand whose DNA was rooted in community and unfiltered storytelling.
Now I’m in a bungalow in Venice Beach, balancing beach days and farmers markets with my work at Creating Forward Studio. As a brand marketing mentor, I help beauty, wellness, and lifestyle founders step into their potential, build brands that stick, cut through the noise, and scale their businesses with intention.
I started Creating Forward Studio because I saw so many founders hitting the ceiling on DIY business-building - they knew they had something special, but couldn’t get the traction they deserved. My mentorship programs are a culmination of my decades of experience; giving founders structured, strategic support and action-focused mentorship.
The foundations of my brand-building framework were planted (no pun!) long before I even realized it - back when I was the drive-thru chick at McDonald’s and selling streetwear in retail. I learned early on that the strongest brands are built on a deep understanding of the customer. When you know how to make that intentional connection, your brand becomes Sticky. At Creating Forward, I do this through my Sticky Brand DNA framework, which once clearly defined, gives founders super clear parameters on what their brand is, and informs every decision we make together.
What do plants, nature and gardening mean to you?
Nature to me means grounding, life, and spaciousness.
When I’m out in nature, being present in nature, I love thinking about natural ecosystems and how they are so autonomous. So much in our world is synthetic, man made, or at least touched by some sort of human intervention before it reached it’s full cycle - in nature, there is no intervention needed, life happens as it is supposed to with each of its organisms in collaboration, playing their part. It’s a good reminder to trust the universe and let it go.
Seeing sprouts of a leaf coming out in one of our plants at home also reminds me of this, we have an elephant plant that only ever has 3 leaves at a time, each time a new one is coming the other slowly retreats to make sure there is enough nutrients for the new one to thrive. It’s a cool kind of reminder to not overload ourselves.
What's your favorite thing to grow inside your home or in the garden?
Hmmm, honestly all of them! I love the diversity in our plants, from the chaotic monsteras or hanging plants, to the slow growing and sophisticated rubber plants, to more modern and weird shapes of our cacti. We also have some dried native protea flowers in jars, a money tree we got as a housewarming gift, and of course our variegated 2-tone beauty in the Marly planter which has a nice stylish vibe.
I’m a Libran…I’m terrible at choosing 1 thing…
Do you have any unusual tips or tricks for keeping your plants healthy?
My husband…! haha. Back in NY I was the plant mom and when we would go away I’d use the plastic bottle upside down trick, but now we have Marly!
How has your Marly planter helped you on your gardening journey?
We have a lot of plants so it’s great to have one less family member to worry about! Our Marly is also super chic so I love the way it looks in our entertaining / desk / dining room.
What are you listening to, watching, or reading right now?
I’m big on development books, life and business, but one fiction I recently read I was obsessed with - The Paper Palace. I’m also new to Kundalini meditations on Spotify, and watching…House of Dragon.
I’m super excited about the Vogue 90’s feature coming out too!
Which bar, restaurant, park, store, or public space do you always recommend someone make a visit to? Domestic or international!
OHHHHH so many…I’m a big researcher when I travel - I have Notion pages for every destination and love to try and find lesser known “local” things. In Venice Beach, my favorite local spot is Dudley Market. It's owned by a group of local people who source awesome natural wines, catch their own wild seafood, and have an amazing Mexican chef so there’s a nod to Baja on the menu which is one of my favorite places to visit. They also have a wine club that I’m a member of so I get 2 new wines to try a month and good perks when I eat in too :)
On top of all that, it’s just cool - as a brand person of course I really notice details and appreciate “vibe” and they dial up all of it. They collaborated with an artist to draw on the walls and fridges in weird places, with funny little taglines and comments and line drawings. They have a DJ and mirror ball in the evenings, and on warm days they have tables on the sidewalk. Because it’s right by the beach you can see the ocean and it’s always busy so you can just get a bottle or a glass and wait for your table and hang out there. In the mornings on the weekends they bring in a coffee guy who makes a rad espresso drink and it’s a sunny calm spot to chill after a workout.
So really it combines most of my favorite things in one!
Do you have a favorite plant store?
OMG yes, I just found it too - it’s so LA. Merrihew’s Sunset Gardens in Santa Monica. They have a stage out the back where they do meditations, live music and other community events, and inside, is a beautiful store where you’d find a gift for just about anyone for anything.
Ceramics, candles, incense, fabric goods, books…you should sell Marly there!
We stocked up on a bunch of new things, including some wild flowers that I’m going to spread in the front garden, plus herbs and peppers.
What's the best gift you've ever received?
A surprise long weekend in Oslo, Norway! All I got was a packing list and told to pack my passport.
What's something or someone that inspires you?
I’m going to go back to nature here and say the ocean. Whenever I’m feeling stuck, tired, or overwhelmed, I go there to walk, be barefoot, take a dip, reconnect to myself and nature, and get re-inspired.
What are you working on this year?
Everything Creating Forward, this year has been a lot of testing, learning and evolving, doing things for the first time, and taking messy imperfect action for me (the definition of Creating Forward).
Regardless of the business, I love connecting with creative and entrepreneurial people so I’d love to connect with anyone who is interested in building a brand and brand marketing - say hi over at creatingforward.studio, or share what I’m doing with your entrepreneurial friends who might want to chat business!
Amazing, thanks for joining us today Sarah, and good luck on your gardening journey!
Thanks guys!
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Sarah Saxty is a marketing and branding expert based in Los Angeles, CA.
Check out Creating Forward Studio here.
At home, Sarah grows using Marly's Smaller Stone White Self-Watering Planter plus legs (as pictured in the images above).
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