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)
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Transcript
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,
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