You know the saying – ‘When it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably because it is?’ Well, we have learned that the hard way.

When I was pitched this amazing ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to attend the very first Christmas show at the Ideal Home Show in Earls Court in 2011, I was too excited to think clearly about what was in store for us. At this point, we didn’t know anything about ‘that world’ anyway, we were just excited to be playing with the big boys!

I talked Luke into it, and we began what became a few stressful months of preparation. We were trading at the Greenwich Market while making extra stock for the upcoming Christmas Fair.

We had to make the important decision to take on our very first business premises. We were running out of space, and we needed extra room quickly. We found an old, slightly run-down building in East London with no heating and no running water. This became our ‘home’ for the next few months.

We climb the mountain, not in giant leaps but one small step at a time.

-Justina, Co-Founder and Creative Director