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Millie Jaspert is the founder of Spark Bubble,an online store selling bath-toys particularly for children aged 2-9 years old. Millie has developed some of these toys herself and others are a curated collection created by other brands. Millie is also a Primary Teacher so has chosen open-ended toys and shares suggestions for ways children can explore and learn with them.

We had a really interesting conversation about how Millie has curated a selection of products which complement her own designs, and have allowed her to more easily grow her brand and business. Millie also explains how selling her products through a pop up shop has given her lots of opportunities to meet other local business owners and get direct feedback from customers.

Listen in to hear Millie share:

  • An introduction to herself and her business (01:08)
  • Sourcing toys from other brands to sell in her store (03:03)
  • Designing her own product, and how selling other bath toys has helped her build a customer base to then sell her own product to (07:33)
  • Combining running a business with being a teacher, and the transferable skills that she can use (10:34)
  • Combining existing products into play set (11:44)
  • The benefits of selling her products in a pop-up shop (14:42)
  • Getting feedback from children (20:50)
  • The criteria she uses when selecting products for her website (22:19)
  • His number one piece of advice for other product creators (24:09)

USEFUL RESOURCES:

Sparkbubble Website

Sparkbubble Instagram

Sparkbubble Facebook

Kensington Olympia Toy Fair

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Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome to the Bring Your Product Idea to Life podcast.

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

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

Speaker:

stories from small businesses.

Speaker:

Let's get started.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

age two to nine years old.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

collection created by other brands.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

I had a really fascinating conversation with Millie.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

she curates from other businesses.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

now to introduce you to Millie.

Vicki Weinberg:

Hi, Millie.

Vicki Weinberg:

Thank you so much for being here.

Millie Jaspert:

Oh, thank you for having me.

Millie Jaspert:

It's great.

Millie Jaspert:

I can't wait to speak to you.

Vicki Weinberg:

So can we start by you?

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Certainly.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

and learn whilst they play with them.

Vicki Weinberg:

Oh, that's really interesting.

Vicki Weinberg:

Thank you.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

market are for much younger children.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, exactly That.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

and it sounds like yours as well.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

they'd enjoy night after night.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

genuinely seems to be a gap here.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

See, see what I can do.

Millie Jaspert:

To produce toys that children would like to play with?

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah, I think so.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

the bath toy thing quite early, I think.

Vicki Weinberg:

He liked having showers.

Vicki Weinberg:

Um, yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

But my youngest now almost seven.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Exactly.

Millie Jaspert:

So that's great.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

suited to play with in the bath.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

to play with when they're a bit older.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

that weren't created by you.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

Would you mind talking us through how that works?

Millie Jaspert:

Certainly, yeah.

Millie Jaspert:

Kind of chronologically that actually came later.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

toys that are quite hard to source almost.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

They're not readily available in toy shops.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

you know, four toy shops to go to.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

look and see what other brands were doing.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

as a parent that this is available.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

for schools, but the, they're lovely.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

and they do sell directly to consumer.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

from us and, and lots of others.

Millie Jaspert:

I found several others there and that got me thinking.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

I think you're right in that.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

them I haven't seen selling anywhere else.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, exactly.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

bringing all the bath toys together.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

And then also to help this learning side.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

trying to discover for themselves.

Vicki Weinberg:

That's great.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Exactly.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

were surprisingly open to it.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

me giving it a try and see how it worked.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

value in just asking, isn't there?

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

then you haven't lost anything.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

not too many of them and see how it.

Vicki Weinberg:

Of course.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

For them.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah, exactly.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

your business that came later.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

designing your own first of all.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

where I, I guessed that you'd started.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, and actually the very first step I

Millie Jaspert:

took was too big a leap for me.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

something I'd like to do at some point.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

to design some really cool bath toys.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

to see about making it.

Millie Jaspert:

And I actually had samples made.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

a thousand sets, I got nervous.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

put on the site at the moment.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

and selling their products on my website.

Vicki Weinberg:

Oh, so that's really interesting.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

that isn't available just yet.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

when you weren't that sure.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

and things unless you do a huge order.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

just made me a bit bit nervous.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

reach, reach enough people with this.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah, I'm not surprised actually.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

Is a really big number actually.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Oh yeah.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

they all said a similar kind of thing.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

It's not worth it for a smaller run.

Millie Jaspert:

Say that.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

getting those out in front of people.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yes, exactly.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

all the other things that keep us busy.

Millie Jaspert:

But it's, it's really exciting.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

playing with their new toys, et cetera.

Vicki Weinberg:

It's really nice.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

the brands that you stock as well.

Millie Jaspert:

Yes.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

may not have even considered this.

Vicki Weinberg:

So you're taking, is that right?

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, absolutely.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

he, he was really into science.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

like what I was looking for.

Millie Jaspert:

So that, that's one of them.

Millie Jaspert:

I'd call it dribble lab.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

onto the wall to store them in.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

games that you, you can play with it.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

that, and I think that's really smart.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

you know, something along the same lines.

Vicki Weinberg:

You could do the same thing.

Vicki Weinberg:

Source all the different components.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

And package them together.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

There isn't that huge outlay.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

future, you know, starting from scratch.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

sure it's all really safe, et cetera.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

can do similarly, just to get started?

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Oh, thank you.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, I've got another one as well.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

but it's on a float in the bath.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

and it all goes together in a set.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Millie Jaspert:

Thank you.

Vicki Weinberg:

That was really nice.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Exactly.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

happened to spot really.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

would like to sell your product.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

um, kind of packages you could buy.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

There was a store manager.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

a lovely chance to speak to people.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

is all about faces and feelings.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

And, you know, just interacting with them.

Millie Jaspert:

So that was really positive.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

kind of local entrepreneurs.

Millie Jaspert:

Um, and still in contact now.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

people to chat things through with.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

connections to other people in business.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, exactly.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

another really nice benefit from it.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

I, in Horsham.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

come from the popup, which is great.

Vicki Weinberg:

That is great because it sounds like a really nice opportunity

Vicki Weinberg:

to sort of test out your products.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

definitely some things that sell better.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

sell better in person than online.

Millie Jaspert:

Mm-hmm.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

I want to actually smell it and Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

See it and yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

elsewhere in the shopping center.

Millie Jaspert:

Um, so it's.

Vicki Weinberg:

That's amazing.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Exactly.

Millie Jaspert:

No, it was a big success.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

their business has taken up since then.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

everyone a push in the right direction.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, no, it, it was really great.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

to keep, keep my work on Spark Bubble.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

but that would be a nice option.

Vicki Weinberg:

That, yeah, that makes sense.

Vicki Weinberg:

I think as well.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

ones for you as well, isn't it?

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

Because I know that there were so many options out there

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

where, where your customers will be.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, absolutely.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Millie Jaspert:

So need to be the right one.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

kind of explore that a bit more.

Vicki Weinberg:

As you said, the opportunity to just talk

Vicki Weinberg:

to customers is invaluable.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, no, definitely.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

of bounce balls that bounce on water?

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

to speak to your customers, don't you?

Millie Jaspert:

That's the most important thing.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

what they're thinking as well?

Vicki Weinberg:

Absolutely.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

what they think and what they like?

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

think and how they play with them.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

the toys did have these big age bands.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

Um, yeah.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

only last for a very short period of time.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Absolutely.

Vicki Weinberg:

Just, unloved in three months or whatever it is.

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

fill the world with plastic.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

keeps being useful for a long time.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah, absolutely.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Yeah, that is definitely one.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

like how often can you squirt?

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Day after day, after day.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Is is completely it.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

But we'll see.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

So that's a kind of complete essential.

Millie Jaspert:

It.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

just be too difficult at the moment.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

are recyclable, um, et cetera.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

different and interesting.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

I want them to be something a bit challenging.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

Oh, that's brilliant.

Vicki Weinberg:

Thank you.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Oh, no.

Millie Jaspert:

That great to talk to you.

Vicki Weinberg:

Yeah, you too.

Vicki Weinberg:

I'm keeping an eye on the time.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

Would that be all right?

Millie Jaspert:

Yes, that would be.

Vicki Weinberg:

So what would your number one piece of advice

Vicki Weinberg:

be for other product creators?

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

I've explained to you.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

So it's kind of finding those little.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

only by trying that you can learn.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

Just try it and see.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

So thank you for sharing that, Millie.

Millie Jaspert:

Not at all.

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Millie Jaspert:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

Oh, thank you so much, Millie.

Vicki Weinberg:

Brilliant.

Vicki Weinberg:

Thank you.

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

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

Vicki Weinberg:

on my website, vicki weinberg.com.

Vicki Weinberg:

Please do remember to rate and review this episode if you've enjoyed it,

Vicki Weinberg:

and also share it with a friend who you think might find it useful.