Category: About us

1. We're Back!

   Posted on 3:00pm Friday 9th Aug 2019

    

   

   Well, it’s been a while since I have written a blog! It has been a crazy year as sometimes life takes over and unfortunately my blog and newsletters had to take a back seat, however we are back and got lots going on!

   So what has been going on?

   Shining Stars

   Earlier this year we were selected as finalists in the Mums UnLtd Shining Stars awards and invited to the summer event in The Hunton Park Hotel in Kings Langley on the 1th July.

   We were delighted to be selected as one of the winners and this is what the judges had to say:

   “This businesswoman designed and made her own product. Born from a desire to keep her son amused whilst her elder child was doing activities the PlayBag became an activity that went to market in 2015.

    

   This is a lovely idea. The attention to detail and creativity is exceptional. This is an innovative idea which takes children into the world of imagination. The business offers great customer support. She has also shown her commitment to networking by running her own Mums UnLtd group.”

   So excited to have been a part of this fantastic event ????

   What’s happening?

   After having a bit of a break from our blog, we are planning to write one every second Friday, so keep an eye on our website and social media for updates.

   We are also resuming our monthly newsletter to keep you up to date with developments, shows and offers etc. You can sign up to our newsletter via the link at the bottom of the blog.

   We are also giving our website a bit of an overhaul this month to make it more up to date and add some new pages.

   We have lots of exciting new ideas, but I’m not going to say much about this just yet, as I am still formulating the ideas and timeline ????

   Big Personal Changes

   For various reasons, last year we made the decision to take little fella out of main stream school last year to home educate. This was a decision that was not taken lightly, but it has certainly been the best decision for him and me. It does mean that the PlayBag Company has had to have a serious restructure. Now most of my daytimes are taken up learning lots of cool stuff and taking little fella all over the county for workshops and meet-ups (and we’re having a blast ????). He has also been helping me with my marketing by creating stop-motion animations which you may have seen popping up on Social Media and our website. You can view his latest one here : https://youtu.be/t9ZU4dUW6JI 

   I manage to keep on top of urgent business during the week, but save most of my major making and marketing sessions for the evenings and weekends. So apologies if my communication has been a bit sparse of late.

   We have so much going on at the moment and cant wait to share it with you. Keep an eye on social media for updates.

   Debbie x

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2. Best Bits of 2018

   Posted on 3:00pm Friday 21st Dec 2018

   Can’t quite believe I’m writing this already…. The end of another year. So much has happened!

   

   Office space

   Last year we moved into our dream home, so the best part of this year has been spent creating a beautiful workspace for the PlayBag to thrive in. I am so happy with my new workspace which has been creatively and lovingly designed to give me plenty space for fabric, as well as part-made and ready-made stock. It is also wonderfully light and with fantastic views! Perfect for some inspirational sewing time!

   PlayBag Birthday

   In March we celebrated our third year as a company! Every year we have made it our tradition to recreate our logo in a different creative way just for fun! This year we decided to use string art and we had a lot of fun creating it with another exciting idea coming along for our next birthday! 

   Advertising

   We spent a lot of time recreating our literature this year, including new leaflets and care cards. We hope you love our colourful designs just as much as we do and we are always thinking of ways to improve, so do let us know if there is anything you’d like to see!

   Fabrics and designs

   We have our trusted suppliers who provide us with fabrics that have the correct certification for our CE mark and are always on the look out for new and interesting colours for our outer fabrics. We will be giving a big shout out to our suppliers in a later blog, as without them we wouldn’t be here!

   Mums Unlimited: Networking and Business Support Group.

   In April I took over the running of the Northampton Branch of Mums Unlimited. I have been attending the group since it started off over two years ago and loved the supportive and friendly atmosphere of the group, so when the opportunity came to take it on – I jumped at the chance! I love the group and adore seeing the supportive relationships developing and seeing everyone’s businesses progressing. I can’t wait to see where this next year takes us. For more information or to get involved with Mums UnLtd – check out their website at: https://www.mumsunltd.co.uk/

   Shows and exhibitions

   We love getting out to shows, and this year we have been all over the midlands at events. We believe that because the PlayBag is such a tactile and unique product, it really helps when people are able to see and touch our product, as well as the fact that we love to meet so many different people! We have many more events planned for 2019 – so keep an eye out on our events page and on Facebook to find out where we will be and come along and say hi!! http://theplaybagcompany.co.uk/events.html

   Personal

   I am totally honoured to have been able to watch my fabulous daughter and her teammates compete all over the UK as well as Dublin and Florida this year in baton twirling competitions and international events

   I also had a fabulous birthday weekend away late march to a gorgeous country manor hotel in County Durham. Lovely walks in the Lakes and waterfalls. Returned feeling rejuvenated!

   It is so important to me to be able to balance my family and work life, and schedule in time off, as at the end of the day, my family is so important to me and being able to be there for them makes it all worthwhile.

    

   We have so much planned for 2019 and can’t wait to share it with you, but that is for another blog!

   Have a fantastic New Year and see you in 2019!

   Debbie x

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3. Long Winter Nights are For........

   Posted on 3:00pm Friday 23rd Nov 2018

   

   So the nights are definitely seeming longer. It gets so dark so early at this time of year, we thought we would give you a round up of our top ten things to do on these long winter nights.

4. Our Hyggliest Moments

   Posted on 3:00pm Friday 16th Nov 2018

   

   Continuing this month’s theme of Hygge, I thought we’d share with you some of our hyggliest moments. The lovely thing to me about this is that it isn’t about money or things, it is about creating moments of pure joy that last a lifetime.

   Many years ago, when my daughter was still rather small – I was a single parent and as a result fairly strict with her. I can’t even remember how it came about now, but I ended up in her bedroom and we started a pillow fight! I can’t remember much else, but I do remember the two of us lying on her bed in fits of giggles as she said “that was the best fun I’ve ever had”. She still reminds me of this moment to this day. It also reminded me as a parent that sometimes we do need to let loose and let our inner child out to have some fun!

   Me and little Peter created a thing we call the All-Day-Cuddle (ADC for short). Truth is it doesn’t really last all day – it can be just 5 minutes or a few hours. It usually involves us in our pyjamas, on the couch with a nice soft blanket and a film in front of the fire. The main thing is the feeling it creates. It is just us, feeling close and sharing some quality time together.

   Some of my favourite moments also involve power cuts!! A great opportunity to get some candles out and snuggle in front of the fire playing a good old fashioned board game. I would say with a nice cup of hot chocolate as well, but as we only have an electric hob, this is one treat we have to miss out on during those moments!

   All these snapshots of our time, have one thing in common….. family. Being close as a family and creating everlasting memories. We don’t remember the things as much as the feelings these moments create. These are the things that we treasure for all time.

   We would love to hear your hyggliest moments. What made them so special?

   Debbie, Caitlin and Peter x

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