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

Tweet

 

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

Tweet

When I created the PlayBag, I wanted it to be as versatile as possible, whereby the only limit was the child’s imagination. Back in 2016 I wrote a blog about the Top Ten Toys to use with a PlayBag, so decided it was time to give it a bit of a fresh look (with a few extras added in!)

We have found that almost any toys can be used as children’s imaginations have no limits. To our adult eyes we may think that as a soft toy is too big to fit in the small cave, it won’t work with the PlayBag, however reality does not have to be an issue with the PlayBag teamed with an imaginative child!

Anyway…. Here are our current list of Top Twelve toys that we enjoy using with our PlayBags. Although this list is in no way exhaustive, it gives you a good idea where to start if you are wondering what to use!

This year we are bringing to you a selection of special offers over the first twelve days of December. Look out for a different offer every day and I promise I won’t make you sing along to our version of the song!! (Blog Edited)

 

For a sneak preview of what we will be offering – check out this

1^st Day of Christmas: A penguin in a PlayBag. We will be giving away a super cute Penguin Bobball toy with each PlayBag sold on the 1^st December. (Worth £5)

2^nd Day of Christmas: Two for the price of One (Viga Train sets: 2 for £15). Choose any two from Classic Train, Animal Train and Police accessory set. Use code 2VIGA at checkout.

3^rd Day of Christmas: Free Reindeer Toy We are loving these Reindeer Bobball toys so will be giving one away with each PlayBag sold on the 3^rd December. (Worth £5)

4^th Day of Christmas: Fun Little Santa Toy We will be giving away a festive Santa Bobball toy with each PlayBag sold on the 4^th December. (Worth £5)

5^th Day of Christmas: Five pounds off any maxi that we have in stock on the 5^th December. Discount applied at checkout – does not apply to custom orders.

6^th Day of Christmas: Good Dino Toy. This will be chosen at random. (Worth 7.95)

7^th Day of Christmas: Seasonal Snowman We will be giving away a seasonal snowman Bobball toy with each PlayBag sold on the 7^th December. (Worth £5)

8^th Day of Christmas: Mini Mini Deal. Chose any 2 minis from our current stock for £60. (Saving of £10) Use code MINIMINI at checkout. 

9^th Day of Christmas: Lively Little Elf. We will be giving away one of these lovely little Elf Bobball toys with each PlayBag sold on the 9^th December. (Worth £5)

10^th Day of Christmas: A little surprise. (Minimum value £5)

11^th Day of Christmas: Free string of bunting. (Value £15)

12^th Day of Christmas: 12% off our website. Use code XMAS12 at the checkout.

Don’t miss out – each offer will only be available for one day only!!

Happy Shopping!

Debbie x

Tweet