Once Upon a Time… in a pretty market town with a real castle surrounded by hills and dales, there lived a hard-working mum called Sarah.
One day she set out on a quest to find some furniture for her young son Sam, something solid that would last for years and survive bashes, slams and smelly socks.
But all she could see in the shops – even the posh ones – were droopy drawers and wobbly wardrobes all made from MDF – that pretend “wood” made of fibreboard and formaldehyde.
“Aghhhhhh! I hate flimsy fakes. What happened to proper wood, where are the dovetail joints, hand-turned knobs and the lovely twiddly bits?” she shouted angrily.
As If By Magic
Then there was a twinkle followed by a bright idea. If she couldn’t find what she wanted, she would make it herself. Her little house was soon filled with wood, tools, paint pots and very noisy machines.
She became a dab hand at sanding, painting and carving and helped by some clever carpenters, she even learned how to operate a CNC machine.
The Furniture Queen
Her hand-crafted children’s furniture was truly beautiful and made from real eco-friendly wood, with knobs by a local wood turner. She made some gorgeous accessories to match. Everyone who saw her work loved it, which was great, but they all wanted some and her semi was bursting at the seams. Her kitchen table was a workbench and Sam and his dad were fed up eating dinner off their knees.
The Friendly Dragon
Then she met Simon. He knew about wood, he knew about business, he loved her idea, adored her designs and wanted to be part of the story. So he gave her some money – just like the Dragons do in Dragons’ Den. She called their company Fairbourn Children’s Furniture.
The Happy Ending…
Word spread far and wide about Fairbourn’s hand-crafted furniture and accessories. Sarah, who gave up her old job, now has her very own workshop and showroom.
She is very busy and has happy customers from all over the world, including some very famous ones – like rock stars and actors (and no, she can’t say who they are!)
The End
