Lose Yourself in a Magical World at Little Darlings Toys

Little Darlings Toys

It started with making a few wooden toys to sell at their local market, and has blossomed into a thriving business for David and Jenny at Little Darlings Toys. There you’ll find beautiful, handcrafted wooden toys, handmade dolls and soft toys. We spoke to Jenny to learn more about how they got started.

The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?

David and I had been talking for a long time about starting to make toys to sell. He had wanted to make toys for a few years and started making toys for our young girls at the time. David had gotten quite sick in 2013 and was no longer able to work due to a balance issue.

The Launch: How did you start out in the beginning?

We had been at a friend’s place for dinner one night and we were discussing the idea of starting our own business. That night, the more we talked about it, the more we loved the idea. We had come up with our business name and an idea to make a few wooden toys and try to sell them at a few local markets. We had no idea of how popular we would become and how much we would grow.

David spent the next few weeks making a range of small cars and utes and I had sewn a few small dinosaur toys. We then set up a Facebook page and booked into a few markets. After doing these markets, we saw what an awesome product we had and how much people loved David’s toys. We continued to grow our range and do more markets.

The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?

I love the flexibility being my own boss gives us. It was also the realization that we can work and make an income from doing something we both love: sewing and woodworking. It is also being able to be home for our girls that I love most.  

Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?

When we first started it was hard to work with our girls being so young and at home. Now that the girls are both at school it makes it easier to have time to make our toys. I try to get a lot done during the time the girls are at school. I try not to do too much business stuff when the girls are home from school. We also have a Fun Friday night where we will watch a movie or play some games with snack food.

See next page for more…
Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *