Plush Folly & Me

I can vividly remember the first time that I heard of Plush Folly. My Mum had been at the shop opening party and she came back full of enthusiasm and excitement making me wonder why I hadn't tagged along with her. Little did I know that only a couple of months down the line I would begin a two week work experience with Plush Folly that would eventually lead to me still working with the ever growing and evolving Plush Folly team today.

My first memory of Plush Folly

Work Experience... 

I started working for Plush Folly around 5 years ago. At the age of 15 the prospect of working with Sally and her knowledge in cosmetics, skincare and beauty products was extremely exciting for me. Even at that age I was always keen to try new products and I loved make up, so the thought of being surrounded by those products and possibly getting the chance to make the products myself, was overwhelming.

My first jobs at Plush Folly included window and shelf display, shrink wrapping glycerine soaps and working the till. I got the hang of things pretty quickly and began watching and learning the way that Sally worked and how some products were created.  The shop was a lovely size and had an inviting atmosphere for customers to browse happily. In the two weeks I worked there for my work experience, I was excited to turn up each day and begin the days work. Near the end of the second week Sally asked me if I would consider taking the saturday job slot of the previous worker, who was moving onto university.  I accepted, of course!

PF parties ran from inside the shop 

Lipgloss and Bath Fizz...

I began helping out at the Plush Folly parties as soon as my work experience finished. The parties ran for an hour and a half and allowed the party goers to make two products. By helping out at the parties I started to learn how to make some products. Lipgloss and bath fizz were the most popular products that were chosen and I began to think I could make those products with my eyes closed!

Saturday Job...

The mica colours now; a lot more
organised!

Eventually I began working every Saturday. I started to get to know some regular customers and I gained confidence as I began getting used to the company. Sally and I got on really well and she always made me feel able to ask any questions about the products and raw ingredients, in order to feed my curiosity. It's strange the things you remember, for me one thing I can vividly remember is having to sort out the shelves that displayed the mica! Nearly every week (or so it felt) I rearranged and neatened up the mica colours which got everywhere...I always feared I would end up with glittery eyebrows!

I worked in the shop for a little over a year before the decision was made to move on from the shop and Sally decided to focus on the training side of the business, which is now what makes Plush Folly so recognisable.

After packing up the shop Plush Folly split into two premises. The office side of the business, where I worked, ran from Sally's house and the training side was moved to the Hampton Football Club board room. I waved goodbye to my window dressing and stock making days and moved into the new office.  Although there was no physical shop for products to be made and displayed, the online shop was still up and running for people to buy raw ingredients and kits, so I was always kept busy.

University...

The smaller office!

Plush Folly ran from the smaller office for a couple of years and in that time I decided to go to university, which sadly meant leaving Plush Folly. I can remember the day that I left the office and I cried on my walk home from work. Not only was it sad to leave Sally and the other members of staff, it felt like I had grown up through Plush Folly and I had learnt so much there, from making the actual products to knowing how to look after the company and its customers but it suddenly felt like it was over.

Luckily for me, I got back in touch with Sally when I came back to Hampton at Christmas break and she was extremely happy for me to slot back into the business whenever I returned from Uni. Slipping back into the system was easy and although small changes had been made it always felt simple and natural to me.

Talk of a New Premises...

The new PF workspace!

At the end of last year when I returned from Uni, Sally was having thoughts of moving into a different space and it wasn't long until she found the perfect place. A space big enough for an office and a training room, that could be used at the same time, was found just around the corner from the original Plush Folly shop. By the time I returned for Christmas break in 2011, the whole Plush Folly team had set to work moving into the new Plush Folly premises. 

Masses of essential and fragrance oils

At Plush Folly I now have more space to work around than ever before. Not only that but I am being given more and more responsibilities that include more than packing up kits and orders. I still make products from time to time. There is one regular customer who has always ordered a rose scrub which I have made for her every time she has ordered since I started my work experience.

Plush folly ♥ ♥ ♥...

Plush Folly, to me, has always been a growing and evolving fantastic business that gives people a variety of opportunities to set up their own business and also offers a range of other products for people to try and enjoy. I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon Plush Folly and been accepted into the business and to still be working there five years on. 

Creating pretty window
displays reminds me
of when I began at PF

At lot has changed in the business and there have been thousands and thousands of orders placed in my time at Plush Folly and many students that have come on courses are now certified and selling. Sometimes I get a reminder of the times in the Plush Folly shop, just the other day I dressed the window. One thing I am glad of, is that I don't have to use the scary shrink wrap machine anymore!!

Plush Folly and I are growing at the same rate. When I look back on when I started I was very young and unsure of whether I could do a good job, and although I have always had confidence in Plush Folly I feel as though the company, at that time, was just starting out and learning about itself. And now, I have grown up, learnt a lot about 'life things' by living away from home and I feel that Plush Folly has grown and become more assured of itself too. I am always so excited to hear about a new Plush Folly venture and hope that I will be involved with everything that the company does for a very long time. 

Written by Bryony Curtis