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High Growth award 2010 Kiera O' Mara Mamascarf Mama Designs Ltd is the home of Mamascarf, the discreet and supportive breastfeeding scarf invented by Keira O'Mara. She sells Mamascarves online and to retail customers internationally, including Tesco, Boots and Jojo Maman Bebe. Mamascarf is the first product of Mama Designs Ltd and was launched 2 yrs ago. Keira came up with the idea for a discreet and supportive breastfeeding scarf when breastfeeding her baby and spotted a gap in the market. Mamascarf has had a huge amount of publicity, appearing on national TV 5 times, it is also regularly in the press and parenting magazines/blogs. Several celebrity fans have provided feedback (Mel C & Leah Wood). This year she has won or been a finalist for 13 awards (both business & nursery industry). Mamascarf has recently gained some high profile stockists, Tesco, Boots and Jojo Maman Bebe. Keira has signed a distribution deal with a Danish distributor and is in talks with several more (Australia, ROI & New Zealand). She sells to retailers as far afield as Canada, France, Chile and Dubai. She plans to attend an international trade fair later this year as well as fairs in the UK to gain more stockists. Her business was in profit after 6 months and she has new products in development. Lara Boyle www.beautyandthebib.com An original and design conscious range of baby bibs and clothing, catering to local Mums in Greenwich as well as worldwide through distribution and online shop sales. A lovely business success story, beginning in Greenwich market with just a few handmade designs, Lara Boyle was discovered by buyers from Harrods, who requested items to be produced for sale within their baby department, this launched the business from a cottage industry into serious production and export. I am nominating Lara for the high growth award, as in less than 5 years she has started a thriving international business from a hobby making and selling bibs on a market stall. Within that time, the unique product was picked up by Harrods to sell within their baby clothing department. Due to Lara's innovative and practical designs, they were an instant hit, and soon other boutiques and stores wanted to stock the ranges, which quickly expanded from bibs into other clothing and accessories for babies. After a factory for production was found to maintain the high standards of embroidery and manufacture, Lara was able to supply online stores,boutiques and soon international buyers were interested. The company now distributes in Italy, Denmark, and Japan. The growth of the business has also now included returning to Greenwich Market with the opening of the flagship store, which will enable Lara to expand the ranges yet again to include clothing for older children as well as toys. I have come across many businesses that are owned, managed and run by mums. Lara stands head and shoulders against her peers. She has a keen eye for her products and place in the market. She is determined and driven and not one to sit back in her comfort zone. She is striving to take the business to the next level and in her mind the next 5 after that. Since our first meeting only a short while ago the business has expanded into new markets (some abroad) and taken on own business premises. Quite a risk in the present economic conditions. Lara manages to maximise all opportunities and remain approachable, friendly and professional. Whilst maintaining a work/home life balance. Her products have been sought out by royalty abroad requesting special commissions, which is a tremendous achievement. Lara is keen to learn and I have witnessed her promoting not only her own shop but the local community and market in Greenwich which is a natural part of her character. Louise Prunty CT Academy Provides Beauty, Holistic therapy training, hairdressing & barbering training and beauty supplier. Offers largest range of private courses in Scotland. Works with local regeneration groups creating employment and providing training and work experience opportunities to students. Our main customer are women returners (mainly mums) or woman career changers. Since the set up of the company I have worked on building and expanding the company as rapidly as I could. I started off with a small grant of £1000 and since 2006 now turning over £250,000 and plan to smash this figure in 2011. I work with a group of amazing staff who are all mums to between 1 - 5 children each. Growing the business hasn't been easy. We have had a lot of problems along the way, mainly my father being very ill, I have to travel to the hospital twice a day. My managers husband dying and training directors father dying. But we all pull together and if anything has made us and the business stronger. We work very hard to give the very best service in the industry and I believe this shows through my staff and customer loyalty. I am currently working on expanding our franchise network, we have training sites in 2 locations in Scotland for all our courses and Glam Lash specific training in 8 locations throughout the UK. Working on our Dublin centre at present. Hannah MacLeod Coulson Macleod Coulson Macleod is an art business specialising in distressed typographic prints designed and handmade by professional designers and artisans in the UK which is affordable art, so bridging the gap between mass-produced, inferior quality artwork and art that hangs in expensive galleries. Their products are clever and quirky - I have two of them and they print onto canvas, oak, antique roof timbers, solid limestone, recycled paper, and weather-rusted steel. All designs are exclusive to Coulson Macleod and sold worldwide via their website to currently over 20 countries. Hannah & fiancé started Coulson Macleod with no money from start to a now flourishing, small, global, brand, marketing only on the internet. The first sale 2 weeks after launch by showcasing on a design forum. Featured in Jan 2010 issue of Elle Decoration & found themselves popular with influential folk. Forbes Top 100 Billionaire bought a print and Global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi is a repeat customer, even writing a blog about them! The Jamie Oliver Foundation asked them to design a bespoke print for the fundraising event, A Big Night Out With Jamie, held in Nov 2010 which was bid for £1,100. The blog attracts over 5,000 & website over 6,000 visitors a month; use Twitter, Flickr, & LinkedIn. Been interviewed 3 times on BBC Radio Northants. Emirates Home magazine has featured them 3 times, twice in Elle Decoration and twice in Elle Interior (Norway). Coulson Macleod is now stocked in 3 UK and 5 Norwegian shops & sell on the online marketplace Not On The High Street. Gill Hayward & Kellie Forbes YUU world Friends, business partners and busy mums Gill and Kellie launched YUUbag last summer. YUUbag is an activity bag like no other. With a desk, colouring pad, magnetic game and space for iPods and DSs, it's the coolest backpack around. Looking as good as it is useful, the YUUbag is available in five stylish designs. It has also been ergonomically designed on the advice of the charity BackCare to promote good posture and healthy spines. The bags have 360-degree reflectors to aid night time visibility. Kids love YUUbag because they get to choose their own YUUstuff including: a toy, key-ring, sketch pad and pens. It also has a specially designed outside pocket for carrying water bottles, a detachable snack pack made from food-safe material, a zip-lock recycling bag, and a whistle in the chest strap fastener. All this for £43, parents have said it’s amazing value. YUUbag went on sale in July, supported by TV ads on Nickelodeon and sold out almost immediately! When the first TV ad for YUUbag appeared on Nickelodeon on 9th July 2010, mums Gill and Kellie never envisaged that seven weeks later they would have sold out of YUUbags. Since then they've sold a total of 3,600 in just 21 weeks of selling, bucking the trend for toy sales in January, by seeing an uplift in sales. The mums put this rapid growth down to two factors; firstly having a well researched product. The mums consulted with 500 children to find out what they would like to see in an activity bag. They also worked alongside the charity BackCare to ensure the bag helps to promote good posture. The second factor in their success can be attributed to TV advertising. The mums took a bold approach to launch on national TV, but they felt that the investment would pay off in terms of sales and awareness, which it has. Now they are building upon the last six months by talking to retailers about selling YUU, almost a year ahead of plan and creating a sibling product, available in early Autumn. Solvej Biddle Content and Calm Solvej Biddle designs and manufactures products that make travelling and being out and about with babies and young children easier for parents and more fun/peaceful for children. Solvej gave up a job in the city as a successful advertising lawyer to launch her business Content&Calm in 2009. She now has three award-winning products launched: Cot Canopy is a lightweight breathable canopy that fits standard cots and travel cots to provide and adaptable darkened environment allowing babies and toddlers to sleep even when the lights are on or the sun is shining. It packs up into a handy carry bag. TrayKit wowed the Dragons in September and is a fantastic children's backpack that attaches to the seat in front in the car, or a plane/train/car tray table or sits on lap and opens out to reveal a raised edge playtray - no more toys on the floor! ProtectiShade is a unique 360 degree sunshade that offers UPF 50+ protection in the buggy AND in the car -it fits infant car seats and boosters too. Solvej's first product Cot Canopy launched in May09 to acclaim by retailers press & parents alike. Without skipping a beat a second winning design went into production. TrayKit went to Dragons Den in Sep10 and started a bidding war - it sells one every 5 minutes and has been snapped up by JL, Mothercare, Sainsburys, Boots, BA and more. This month, ProtectiShade arrived - awarded Best Travel Product by the Baby Products Association.  The brand has grown very quickly and the business is set to grow 633% between 2010 and 2011. The key reasons for this high growth are: -the products offer practical solutions to common problems at a reasonable price.  -Solvej has worked hard on brand/product awareness through PR and to get the products in front of major retailers -International distribution (more than 20 countries) Plans for 2011: rolling out ProtectiShade, new TrayKit Traveller, new colours, nationwide children's competition to design a TravelBug in conjunction with a charity. Polly Marsh Cuddledry Polly is one of the mums who created the Cuddledry apron towel - designed to help new mums and dads to safely and confidently bath their babies. Her business now creates and sells an ever increasing range of baby and toddler products, all genuinely helpful to parents because they come from someone like Polly - a mum of three young girls. The company has succeeded in getting its products retailed by all the leading high street retailers of baby products - from John Lewis to Tesco - and in over 40 countries around the world, despite only having been in business for four years. From its conception in October 2006, and really getting going in early 2007, Cuddledry has grown into an international business turning over more than £500k per annum - through the sheer hard work of Polly and the people working with her. She has spearheaded the financial side of things, as well as being heavily involved in the manufacturing, and has learned things she never imagined about how to make different types of towelling! She has uncomplainingly, and very astutely, climbed a pretty much vertical learning curve about the monetary side of running a fast growing business, and has kept Cuddledry on the straight and narrow.  As a result of her beady eye being on stock, margins and profits, Cuddledry has maintained its profitable growth even during recession, and promises continued and exciting development in the next few years. A whole range of new products is planned, moving into new sectors, and adding new overseas territories to its list of successes.