Name: Natalie Sartain
Job title: Trade Marketing Specialist
Tell us a bit about yourself
I have a soon-to-be 18-year-old daughter (pictured above, left) who somehow makes me feel both very old and very young at the same time. A lot of my spare time is spent in Ticketmaster queues for concerts, most recently securing Harry Styles tickets for us both.
I love all kinds of music. Some days its Harry Styles or Taylor Swift and other days it could be Andrea Bocelli or Queens of the Stone Age.
There’s almost always music being played somewhere in the house. Being in a blended family, I also have three-year-old and five-year-old stepdaughters, so Baby Shark or K Pop also make a regular appearance blasting out the speakers.
I love crafts and decorating, so there’s always a project on the go – whether that’s making a pair of trousers or attempting parquet flooring in the living room. Decorating is my idea of relaxing, but when I need a break, I go paddleboarding, or take my 1968 VW Beetle for a drive.
At the age of 40 I started drum lessons and passed grade one. My tutor thought I was kidding when they asked what my goal was and I said to tour with P!nk as the main drummer. Aim high, right?!
Describe your job to a five-year-old
Imagine a shop full of bathroom products (like a toy shop). I work with the toys and shops to help decided what goes in the shop or how it’s displayed so people can find their what they need or want.
What do you like most about your job?
I love storytelling. For me, marketing is all about telling the right story to the right audience.
How did you get here?
Completely fell into it. My degree was in metal smithing and jewellery as I wanted to be a jewellery buyer working with diamonds every day.
I got a temporary role as a beauty brands buyer, and during a restructure the entire marketing team was made redundant. Work still needed to be done, so they moved me over into marketing, and it just felt right. They saw something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself.
I stayed there for seven years, then wanted a change and moved into brassware. I’ve worked at Bristan, City Plumbing, Wolseley and now Ideal Standard and Villeroy & Boch – and honestly, it’s an amazing industry to be part of. Even when you try to leave the bathroom industry, it pulls you back in.
What motivates you?
A sense of achievement, personal or work. Knowing you accomplished something, however big or small.
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
Mark Schulman, the P!nk main drummer. I’ll swap with him – just need a few more lessons first.
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film
Ohh, I‘m not very good with lyrics and often sing the wrong lyrics.
Best one is the Goldie Lookin’ Chain “Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do”. For many years I wondered why he was singing Guns don’t kill people, rabbits do and why are there killer bunnies on the loose.
Your favourite app?
TikTok – My daughter introduced me to it and now it is my go-to for everything.
How to do something? TikTok.
Visting a new country? TikTok recommendations.
Want some silly cat videos? TikTok delivers.
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
I tend to block these out, but here’s one that stands out…
It was thundering and lightning outside, and I was watching from the window at work, and I said (very loudly) “I love a good fork”, meaning the forked lightning. Unfortunately, the MD walked in at that exact moment, misheard me and gave me a talk about what is and isn’t appropriate to say in the office.