Curating products to sell – with Millie Jaspert – Spark Bubble

Welcome to the Bring Your Product Idea to Life podcast.

This is the podcast for you if you're getting started selling

products or if you'd like to create your own product to sell.

I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product creation coach and Amazon expert.

Every week I share friendly, practical advice as well as inspirational

stories from small businesses.

Let's get started.

Hello, today I'm speaking with Millie Jaspert from Spark Bubble.

Spark Bubble is an online store selling bath toys for children,

age two to nine years old.

Millie has developed some of the toys herself and others of a created

collection created by other brands.

Millie is also a primary school teacher, so she chose open-ended toys and she

gives suggestions to ways children can explore and learn with them.

I had a really fascinating conversation with Millie.

As I mentioned, there were two aspects to her business, so she has

some products that she has created herself as one, as well as ones that

she curates from other businesses.

So this made for a really interesting conversation and I would love

now to introduce you to Millie.

Hi, Millie.

Thank you so much for being here.

Oh, thank you for having me.

It's great.

I can't wait to speak to you.

So can we start by you?

Please give an introduction to yourself, your business, and what you sell.

Certainly.

So, um, my name's Millie Jaspert, um, and my business is called Spark Bubble.

And it's, uh, an online store that sells bath toys, particularly for not kind of

babies, slightly older than that for kind of two year olds, up to nine year olds.

And looking, I'm a teacher, I still teach three days a week, and it's

kind of looking for interesting bath toys that can help children explore

and learn whilst they play with them.

Oh, that's really interesting.

Thank you.

Because yeah, I have a six year old and I feel that it's, it's a funny age

because they still want to play in the bath, but most of the bath toys on the

market are for much younger children.

Yeah, exactly That.

That was completely what made me start it in the beginning.

That I'd, children of my own, and I just struggled to find the kind

of things I was looking for because I, I've certainly, with my boys,

and it sounds like yours as well.

Um, your, your child, you know, age sort of four, you know, up to about

10 they still want to have baths and play, but there's really, I found that

was really tricky to find things that, that they'd enjoy and particularly

they'd enjoy night after night.

So that was really what what got, got me thinking like, there

genuinely seems to be a gap here.

And you know, why, why not start to fill it?

See, see what I can do.

To produce toys that children would like to play with?

Yeah, I think so.

I, I have two children as well, but my, my eldest was, um, sort of grew out of

the bath toy thing quite early, I think.

He liked having showers.

Um, yeah.

But my youngest now almost seven.

Yeah.

Still does like to play in the bath, but we, we do struggle actually.

And also what we end up playing with are things that aren't conventional bath toys.

Yeah.

That are just plastic toys that can go in the bath.

Exactly.

So that's great.

Sometimes it's quite nice to have some that are like perfectly

suited to play with in the bath.

So yeah, that was all kind of part of my thinking to kind of cater for those

children who, you know, do want something a bit more challenging and interesting

to play with when they're a bit older.

So I know that some of the products that you sell,

you've curated from other places and some you've designed yourself.

So let's maybe start with, um, the products on your site

that weren't created by you.

Um, and can we talk a little bit about sort of the process of how you

went about finding them, selecting them, and then I guess there's also

a bit involved in, you know, getting the approval to, to resell them.

Would you mind talking us through how that works?

Certainly, yeah.

Kind of chronologically that actually came later.

For some reason I sort of jumped in the deep end, started developing my own first,

which we're going to talk about in a bit.

But then I realized that there are actually a lot of other really great bath

toys that are quite hard to source almost.

Uh, but for as a consumer, when you're looking, they're quite hard to find.

They're not readily available in toy shops.

And really what kind of led me to this, it was just about a year ago,

I went to, um, the, the toy show in Kensington Olympia, which is,

you know, four toy shops to go to.

And I just went for kind of market research really to just go and have a

look and see what other brands were doing.

And that's when I discovered actually there are some really

interesting, um, products being sold by, by different brands that, um,

that, that, that, that are quite tricky for people to get hold of.

Well, not really, but you know, they, they don't jump out at you.

You know, if you, if you know about them, then you can find them,

obviously, but they, they, they don't, they're not really apparent to you

as a parent that this is available.

So for example, as a brand, um, learning resources that, um, sells products

for schools, but the, they're lovely.

They, they've, you know, got a lot going for them.

These toys are really robust, uh, but it's a lots of play value in them,

and they do sell directly to consumer.

So they're a great brand to stock that you don't have like 20 of them.

You, you can, as a parent, you can just buy, buy one directly

from us and, and lots of others.

I found several others there and that got me thinking.

And then I contacted lots of other brands and had got samples and had

a look, and w was really pleasantly surprised by what options there were.

I think you're right in that.

So learning results is that I, I've obviously had a good look at your website

and I've seen some of the toys that you sell and I have to be honest, a lot of

them I haven't seen selling anywhere else.

Yeah.

Um, and like you say, I haven't seen them in toy shops, so

I'm not sure, you know, some of these brands, I guess they are out there,

it's just they're not easy to find.

Yeah, exactly.

So that's why I think there is a, is a valid market and kind of

bringing all the bath toys together.

And then I try and always have some kind of tips about how you could maximize them.

You know, what kind of games you could play and what you can do with your child.

Just, you know, to make it fun and interesting.

And then also to help this learning side.

Because I can't help thinking, you know, what you can do to get your

child, your child thinking a little bit more and exploring and you know,

trying to discover for themselves.

That's great.

And so when you found these brands, was it a case of just approaching

them and asking if they would be up for selling them via your site.

Exactly.

And the, um, you know, the, the companies I con contact

were surprisingly open to it.

Um, and what really you know, excited me as well was they didn't have

massive minimum orders, particularly when I said, I'm just starting up.

Then they'd say, you know, that, that's fine, just 200 pounds

worth to begin with or something, which is, is, you know, doable.

So, yeah, I've, I've kind of, yeah, I'm sure they'd, they're hoping it'll

get bigger and bigger and that the large orders will come in, but, um, you

know, nearly all of them, the one or two I approached, it didn't work out.

And they do want a, you know, significant orders, but you know, about seven

different brands or something were, were up for, for having a small order and just

me giving it a try and see how it worked.

That's really good and it shows that there's a lot of

value in just asking, isn't there?

Because the worst someone can say is no, really, and, and even

then you haven't lost anything.

I'd like, I assume, you know, from their point of view,

it's not, um, stealing from any other sales they are doing elsewhere.

You know, it's, it's not kind of the, now someone's not going to go into to shop,

it's just if they specifically want bath toys, here's another option for them.

So, yeah, I can see why they think, well, we might as well let this person have

not too many of them and see how it.

Of course.

And it all helps with brand awareness, doesn't it?

For them.

Yeah, exactly.

And I hadn't actually realized that that was the part of

your business that came later.

So chronologically, I didn't realize you jumped in with

designing your own first of all.

That's, that's brilliant because I think arguably you probably took the.

No, I don't want to say more difficult, but, um, because there,

you know, there's challenges with both approaches, but yeah, that wasn't

where I, I guessed that you'd started.

Yeah, and actually the very first step I

took was too big a leap for me.

And I, I haven't seen it through, it's still kind of on the back burner or

something I'd like to do at some point.

But when I first started Spark Bubble, I thought, right, I'm going

to design some really cool bath toys.

And I, you know, designed it on paper and, you know, worked.

I got a, a, a designer online to help me and contacted manufacturers

to see about making it.

And I actually had samples made.

And then when it came to the actually putting in an order for

a thousand sets, I got nervous.

And at that point I thought, okay, I'll wait.

Maybe, maybe I need to build up slowly before I place that kind of order.

So the very first thing was completely from scratch designing and getting nervous

and thinking, well, I haven't waited my time, but I haven't used it yet.

Then the kinda middle one, um, in both senses, you know, time-wise and, um,

risk-wise kind of becoming easier was, um, the two toys that I've developed

when I've sourced different, um, products already available and then put them

together as a set with a leaflet with the branding and sell that as a set.

So those are kind of the two that I, I, have created and

put on the site at the moment.

And then I moved on to the contacting other brands and selling through them

and selling their products on my website.

Oh, so that's really interesting.

So with your, um, that's with the product that you've designed

that isn't available just yet.

So was it literally that point of needing to place an order

when you weren't that sure.

I, it just felt like too much of a jump because, you know,

I, it's the capitals all my own and they needed, you know, a thousand sets.

Well see I contacted different suppliers, but it's if there was using, um,

using foam and it's just not worth their while creating all the molds

and things unless you do a huge order.

So it was tens of thousands for the minimum order and it

just made me a bit bit nervous.

Until I had a good customer base built up, whether I could definitely

reach, reach enough people with this.

Yeah, I'm not surprised actually.

And that's a really big first order as well.

I mean, lots of suppliers that I've worked with, you know, might

want hundreds and that's scary enough but thousands of, yeah.

Is a really big number actually.

And I don't know, maybe at some point you'll be able to find someone who's

willing to take on small orders, because there are factories out there.

But as you'll know from the experience you've had, it's just, it's a long

process finding someone that, that you are happy with and you know,

building that relationship, it's not an overnight thing, is it?

Oh yeah.

And I did contact several and had some ongoing discussions with them and

they all said a similar kind of thing.

So I think it's just the significant setup cost.

It's not worth it for a smaller run.

Say that.

So, but yeah, it's still, it's still there as a possibility, but in the

meantime, I'm feel more comfortable with the root of finding the interesting,

interesting bath toys that aren't out there enough and doing, you know,

getting those out in front of people.

And also myself looking, um, at how, how I can make new toys with what

is already available out there, but putting them together as, as a set.

Yeah.

That's really exciting and as you say, a lot lower risk as well.

Mm-hmm and I also, I guess a, a bit less time intensive given

that you're also working as a teacher a few days a week as well.

Yes, exactly.

Yeah.

So it's, I have to, you know, it's, it is at the moment, it's still it's, it's at

the side hustle stage and yeah fitted in around, yeah, teaching and family life and

all the other things that keep us busy.

But it's, it's really exciting.

I really enjoy it and really it's really rewarding watching Spark Bubble grow

and having that contact with customers and hearing how much children enjoyed

playing with their new toys, et cetera.

It's really nice.

And it's also, yeah, it's really, I think it must be really rewarding as well to

sort of curate the products in the way that you do, which is a really nice

approach, sort of rather than, right, like you say, rather than creating something,

I guess it's curating and then, you know, getting them in front of people.

I think that's actually really nice and really beneficial for you and for

the brands that you stock as well.

Yes.

No, it's, it's working well.

I'm, I'm really enjoying it and yeah, and, and building up relationships, customers

as well, and getting an idea of what other things they're looking for too.

So it gives me good, good tips about where to go to next.

There's, now that I have people that I'm, I'm in contact with, um, so.

And I'm really interested in the product of yours that you do

have, um, because I think that's also a really nice option for people that

may not have even considered this.

So you're taking, is that right?

That you're taking existing products and sort of putting them together?

Yeah, absolutely.

So that, one of them, when my son Oscar was, you know, six-ish or something,

he, he was really into science.

I thought, oh, I'll get him a bath science set.

And I was having a look and I was like, I just couldn't find anything

like what I was looking for.

So that, that's one of them.

I'd call it dribble lab.

And I've got a selection that comes with their kind of microscope with,

um, various measuring cylinders, a little pipette, a little funnel.

So what, what I've done, just contacted different manufacturers

and got these products, and then I've got a, a kind of net that sticks

onto the wall to store them in.

And so sell it as a set so you can have a, a starter science set to play

with in the bath, and then produce a leaflet with ideas about the kind of

games that you, you can play with it.

Well, I think that's really clever and uh, yeah, I really

like that because I haven't spoken to anyone else who's done anything like

that, and I think that's really smart.

And presumably if you found another theme you wanted to create something similar,

you know, something along the same lines.

You could do the same thing.

Source all the different components.

Yeah.

And package them together.

And I think, yeah, I think that's actually a really clever way

of doing it because you're not creating everything from scratch.

There isn't that huge outlay.

Yeah.

Um, I think that's a really nice idea.

It's kind of, it feels like the starting moment that ideally,

you know, I've got kind of ideas for, for toys I'd love to produce in the

future, you know, starting from scratch.

But it's just such a bigger job to do that.

And, you know, in every sense of o of it, you know, the, the financial outlay,

the time invested, the risk factor, uh, you know, because if you're creating from

scratch and you really need to kind of rigorously test every component, make

sure it's all really safe, et cetera.

So yeah, it feels like a nice kinda way to dip my toes into creating my own products

and, you know, can see in, uh, you know, a year or whatever, if I'm feeling braver

than I can return more to the original idea of creating products from scratch.

Yeah, but as you say, I think that's a really nice way of doing

it and not, yeah, I really like that approach and I think that's something

for people to think about that is there as an intermediate step something you

can do similarly, just to get started?

I think creating a set is a really, yeah, I think that's a really nice idea.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah, I've got another one as well.

So there's two, I've done the dribble lab, um, and then also Splashy

Towers, which is kind of three dimensional shapes and a float.

So yeah, it's, can kind of, you know, it's basically playing with blocks

and you can make, you know, castles and bridges, whatever you want,

but it's on a float in the bath.

So, again, I've got the blocks, got the float, got the storage net,

and it all goes together in a set.

And that, you know, there's nothing really like it.

So it's, yeah, it's, it's working well

I think that's really nice and I do hope that, that, you

know, for everyone listening, that will sort of sparks some ideas maybe.

Yeah.

Thank you.

That was really nice.

The other thing I, well one other thing I'd like to talk about a bit if, if that's

okay, is I think I, it might be your Instagram, I saw this Millie, that you'd

had, um, you spent some time selling your products in a pop-up shop and I was just

quite curious about that and how that came about and, and how you found it.

Because that's a nice way, isn't it, to get your product on a shelf without

sort of having to do, go down the traditional wholesaler route perhaps.

Exactly.

No, and this was a real early days opportunity that I just

happened to spot really.

Just that the town, um, I live in is called Horsham in West Sussex,

and they've got a nice dynamic town council and they set up, I sort of just

happened to see, uh, you know, Horsham, um, popup store is coming, you know.

It was, it was last year, so, um, kind of November, December, and January.

No, November, December 21 and January 22 and it was, you apply if you

would like to sell your product.

Um, and at that point I only had the two.

So I literally just had splashy towers and dribble lab and they had various,

um, kind of packages you could buy.

So some people had to have a little store within the store.

And I literally took a shelf, I took the kind of smallest one.

And you didn't have to be there all the time.

There was a store manager.

So I tended to, you know, like I say, I'm teaching quite a lot, et cetera,

so I'd go in on a Saturday and when I'm free on a Tuesday, I'd, I'd pop in for a

few hours and the rest of time was store manager and, and it was so beneficial.

I think, um, the, the main benefits were when I was there as

a lovely chance to speak to people.

Um, and a lot of people coming up and, you know, having nice

discussion about, oh, I'd love, I think my grandchild would love this.

You know, they've got special needs or the, actually I was showing

them the prototype for the one I was inventing from scratch, which

is all about faces and feelings.

So I got some really good, um, kind of customer feedback about that.

And, you know, just interacting with them.

So that was really positive.

And also, um, meeting the other people, selling the other

kind of local entrepreneurs.

Um, and still in contact now.

We've got WhatsApp groups and things that other people's businesses going

in different directions, but it's just all part of the support network and

people to chat things through with.

Yeah, and that's really important, isn't it?

Because particularly if you don't, you know when you start up your own business,

and obviously you've come from a teaching background, you may not necessarily have

connections to other people in business.

And it's so invaluable, isn't it?

Just to, you hear what people are doing, get ideas.

Yeah, exactly.

And just, yeah, just people to chat things through with and no, so that, that was

another really nice benefit from it.

So yeah, if, if anyone's got a similar opportunity in their area, then

um, yeah, I'd definitely go for it.

Or if your council's asking for ideas about how to regenerate or something,

then suggest a pop-up store because you know, the customers loved it.

They'd come in and all these interesting little starting up local brands and, um,

at least two I think from, um, the people who are there now have proper stores.

I, in Horsham.

So one guy did a nice plants of store within it and now he's got this fantastic,

you know, it's in a shopping centre, but it's really vibrant and lovely.

His plants store, um, called Hugo and Green and, and that's totally

come from the popup, which is great.

That is great because it sounds like a really nice opportunity

to sort of test out your products.

Yeah.

And see how well they sell in a store, because I think there were

definitely some things that sell better.

I mean, I think plants is a really good example.

I'm convinced that plants, I don't know this, but I'm convinced they

sell better in person than online.

Mm-hmm.

Because, I don't know about you, but if I'm buying a plant,

I want to actually smell it and Yeah.

See it and yeah.

I, the thought of buying one online seems a bit, even though I'm a

big shopper online, plants is something I don't think I would.

Yeah.

So, well he's doing really well and his store is lovely.

I'm saying it's definitely the highlight of the shopping centre.

It's this really kind of, you know, and it's really unique and you can

feel his character coming out in it rather than the generic stores

elsewhere in the shopping center.

Um, so it's.

That's amazing.

So it sounds like that pop-up shop experience was great for him

as well as a way of just testing out whether people wanted that.

Exactly.

No, it was a big success.

And, and several others, you know, from the group I've seen, you know,

their business has taken up since then.

Um, and maybe I've, I've thought those before, thought maybe it's

people who are quite dynamic who got involved in the pop-up store.

Or, you know, but then it also, I think it did genuinely help kind of give

everyone a push in the right direction.

And, you know, everyone's doing slightly different things, but they've

all kind of gone up a level since the opportunity began, which is super.

It, it is just good, isn't it, to get your products in

front of people, and as you said, to actually talk to your customers

as well and find out what they think and what they're looking for.

Yeah, no, it, it was really great.

I really, yeah, I'm really glad I did it.

And I, yeah, and I think another thing I've considered, I haven't

really done yet is, uh, a lot more of the, um, the fairs and things.

You know, there's so many kind of events that are just on for weekends, but yeah,

at the moment I just feel I'm bit too pulled in so many directions that I try

to keep, keep my work on Spark Bubble.

So some of the Mondays and Tuesdays when I'm not working is a good time.

I don't really want to spend all weekend go going to fairs and things,

but that would be a nice option.

That, yeah, that makes sense.

I think as well.

Well, especially if you have limited time, it's choosing the right

ones for you as well, isn't it?

So, I don't know, one's aimed at parents perhaps.

Yeah.

Because I know that there were so many options out there

to, to for fairs and events, um, and yeah, it's just thinking about

where, where your customers will be.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

So need to be the right one.

So yeah, maybe i'll try and do one or two this year just to

kind of explore that a bit more.

As you said, the opportunity to just talk

to customers is invaluable.

And are you get, are you finding that they're giving you sort of

ideas of things that they would like or their children would like?

Yeah, no, definitely.

They've, you know, just when they kind of ask, you know, do you have kind

of bounce balls that bounce on water?

It's like, hmm, do you think that'd be interesting in the bath?

I know that's good in a swimming pool, but, you know, so it just kind of gets

you thinking about, you know, options and things to explore a bit more.

Um, and so, yeah, no, it's, it's, it's, it's definitely can, you always need

to speak to your customers, don't you?

That's the most important thing.

There's no good just thinking in isolation about what people want.

You actually need to talk and see, is that really what,

what they're thinking as well?

Absolutely.

And have you had any feedback, I'm just being curious, but have you heard

any feedback from children, I guess, including your own children and yeah

what they think and what they like?

Um, when I'm deciding which products to stock, um, my, my

youngest son's one of, one of the chief testers, so he'll, he'll do,

and likewise my nieces and nephews and friends' children and things.

So yeah, let's say it very much, and it's quite interesting to get the same

toy and give it to a few children of different ages and see, see what they

think and how they play with them.

The same items can be played with very differently, uh, at different stages.

Um, which is, you know, something I look for in the ideal toy.

You don't want it to be that the child's bored of it in six months.

You want it to be able to be kept for kind of for years, and it grows with the child.

Yeah.

I found that really interesting on your website actually, that a lot of

the toys did have these big age bands.

Yeah.

Um, yeah.

I found, I thought that was really interesting because you are right, um, so

many toys our children want sort of, you know, they can be a bit of a fad or they

only last for a very short period of time.

But I think as parents we're always just looking for those

toys that are going to have a, a longer life and aren't going to be.

Absolutely.

Just, unloved in three months or whatever it is.

Yeah.

And from a sustainability point of view as well, you don't just

fill the world with plastic.

You know, you want, you want it to be a special toy that a child enjoys many

years and then gives to their cousin and, you know, it kind of, you know, keeps,

keeps being useful for a long time.

Yeah, absolutely.

And um, is that some of the criteria you have?

So coming back to the products you source, is that one of the criteria?

You, or what, actually, I'll ask more open question.

What criteria do you have for the toys that you sell on your website?

Yeah, that is definitely one.

Um, yeah, being kind of open-ended and enjoyable night after night.

There's, I I, I find toys, you know, a squirter or something

like how often can you squirt?

That's just, I don't think that's fun.

Day after day, after day.

Um, whereas's one that gets you thinking and creating.

Is is completely it.

So yeah, the criteria, I'm trying to think.

I think at some point I did write a list, but over time it's more just

become a kind of feeling about, you know, is is this going to work or not?

But we'll see.

It needs to be, um, I, I, I hate it when mold goes inside toys.

So, you know, just the kind of practical health and safety things

that I don't, I don't want one that could go yucky in the bathroom.

So that's a kind of complete essential.

It.

Yeah, it has to be interesting time and time again.

Uh, one of our kind of values is being good for the environment,

so I could have looked for brands that are as good as they can be.

So I don't have an absolute no plastic rule or anything, so that would

just be too difficult at the moment.

But I'm, I'm looking for brands that do, do what they can in the, in the

choices they make in the packaging, and, you know, re whether the items

are recyclable, um, et cetera.

And yeah, I think those are, those are some and just a bit

different and interesting.

I don't want to sell, you know, things I've seen before.

I want them to be something a bit challenging.

Um, that yeah, help children think and learn whilst they play with them.

Oh, that's brilliant.

Thank you.

And thank you so much for everything that, that you've shared.

Oh, no.

That great to talk to you.

Yeah, you too.

I'm keeping an eye on the time.

Do we have time, do you think, for one final question?

Would that be all right?

Yes, that would be.

So what would your number one piece of advice

be for other product creators?

I, I think, I think all the business people.

I think my experience is just to give things a go.

And, you know, like I've done various things.

I've explained to you.

Um, I've sort of tried to find a not too expensive way to go.

I don't suddenly find that instead of generating money, I'm losing money.

So it's kind of finding those little.

Just to try things, um, look for opportunities and, and, and it's

only by trying that you can learn.

And if you give some something not too big a shot and it doesn't work

out, it's not the end of the world.

You know, like I made samples for, um, the very first product I made,

which they haven't really gone anywhere, but I didn't spend a fortune.

So that can just go in my kind of learning experience pot, and you know, maybe at

some point I'll use them, but I'm so glad to have given this whole venture a go

rather than just have had a, oh, I wonder if I should have started a business.

Just try it and see.

Oh, that's brilliant advice and a really nice outlook as well.

So thank you for sharing that, Millie.

Not at all.

No, it's been been great to speak to you.

Thank you very much for getting in touch and yeah, hope you and, and

all your listeners, uh, do well in the future, all their endeavors.

Oh, thank you so much, Millie.

Brilliant.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for listening right to the end of this episode.

Do remember that you can get the full back catalogue and lots of free resources

on my website, vicki weinberg.com.

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