When Peter and I got married, I gave him a little warning (a very friendly one!) that life with me would be very much a roller-coaster ride – I have rather crazy ideas from time-to-time and am a firm believer that if you want something enough, you can do anything. Taking this mantra to heart, I decided to set up a business in 2008 and DaisyChainBaby was born (no pun intended!). Just a couple of months after we launched, we found ourselves one February Sunday at Duck Pond Market in Ruislip, bleary-eyed, and setting up our first ever stall.

As I’m sure most of you can sympathise with, when we first started DCB, we were a little naïve. Armed with our shiny work-in-progress website, we launched in November 2008 and immediately sat back, waiting for all the online orders to flood in. Needless to say, we weren’t rushed off our feet, packing orders night and day. The goodwill of friends and family runs out eventually, and you wait…and wait…for that first “genuine” order. It did come but I realised that we needed another outlet for our sales, and spent a large part of Christmas 2008 doing some research.

I came across Duck Pond Market via a website called Stallfinder.com, immediately loved the idea of it being an ethical market, as everything that we sell is either organic, handmade or ethically sourced, and was thrilled that it was then quite close to where we were living. I got in touch with Caron to see if she still had spaces for stall holders, and Peter and I went along in January to see what it was like. I think we already knew within about 30 seconds of walking into the barn that this was the place for us.

The venue itself was so beautiful and in perfect keeping with the ethos of the market – after all, it would seem quite strange holding an ethical market in a swanky hotel conference centre!! It was so easy to see how well it lends itself to this type of event, being a great location at the top of the high street, with free adjacent parking. Convenient for both local residents and those coming from a little further afield, it was no surprise that the atmosphere was buzzing even though it was only the second time the market had run. We met Caron who was so welcoming, chatted briefly to some other stall holders and as we came away we immediately knew how important it was to make sure we got booked in for the very next event.

Our first market was more successful than we ever dared dream of – obviously it was hard to know what to expect, having never done anything like that before. We were thrilled that customers responded so favourably to our lovely items and it gave us so much confidence and the belief that our business will work, it’s just going to take time. With a couple of markets under our belts, I decided I enjoyed them so much that I looked for other events to take part in, and last year which was technically our first year in business, we travelled all over the place and did everything from tiny summer fetes to the gigantic Thames Festival.

There’s no denying that it can be hard – we both work full time and for most people weekends are a precious chance to re-charge batteries. Last year we got into the habit of getting home on Fridays, preparing all our market gear, and then heading off somewhere on either Saturday and/or Sunday – trying and testing to see where our baby clothes are well-received (and in some cases where we should never go back to!). Outdoor events in November are something that can really test a marriage, and we do get tired. However, no-one said that starting a business was easy and you quickly learn that in order to make it work, you have to be prepared to go that extra distance.

One of the biggest enjoyments we take from the “DCB roadshow” is the people we meet – not just customers, but other stall holders too. Everyone at Duck Pond Market is so friendly, and this seems to be the case at other markets we visit. It’s great to network with other traders, sharing successes and laughing over horror stories, and also finding out about other events from an invaluable insiders point of view (something Lorna and I do a lot!)

It’s now 18 months since we did our very first market and we’re still going strong. We look forward to our Ruislip markets each month as it’s lovely to come to a place that we know so well and feel so at home. We catch up with friends, see our regular and new customers, and just generally enjoy supporting this fabulous community event. Caron and her friends and family have done such a fantastic job in promoting the markets, and moving into new areas in Harrow and Iver. I know without a doubt that DCB wouldn’t be where we are without having been given a chance at Duck Pond and I feel so fortunate. Not only have our shows become more and more successful, but it’s certainly had a knock-on event for our website as well, which continues to grow month by month.

Our journeys now to Ruislip will be a little longer as we’ve recently relocated to Forest Hill in South East London, but we’ll always be there, somewhere just inside the doors, ready to tempt parents, grandparents, friends and colleagues with our lovely collection of children’s clothing and gifts.