A Darling of the Gift World

Coral Garlick

A Darling & Darling Teddy

Jemma Kidd Make Up School

Jemma Kid's Make Up Selection

There have been so many occasions when I have come across a new product or service on the market and instantly thought to myself: “What a good idea” or “Why or earth didn’t I think of that”? Whether I want to admit it or not, the answer is probably because I’m a writer and not an entrepreneur. The spirit that flows through the veins of this particular breed – male or female – is a rather unique one. 

The more women in business I interview, the more I realise have started up their own company because a personal need drove them towards a gap in the market.

Darling & Darling is one such organisation; an online company selling a range of beautiful products & services to help capture & create family memories. As well as the newly launched ‘memory days’ products include keepsake boxes, journals, record books, hand & footprints, photo books, jewellery, furnishings, china, stationery & photography. Set up by Coral Garlick, a mother of 4 and an experienced children’s photographer, the site provides fresh ideas to help parents remember the most magical time of their children’s lives.

She took time out from her very busy schedule as wife, parent and company director to talk to me about business and a new venture she has just started up with The Jemma Kidd Makeup School.

“Running a business as a director and a mother is very different to running a business as a director and a father. I think women - mothers – are instinctively drawn to their children’s needs in a different way to men. The work/family balance means different things as a mother, especially when you have young children to consider.

“I do think that making a success of both responsibilities requires you to be disciplined with your time. As an example, for me the last 6 months has been especially challenging because we were re-launching the site in December and we initially had problems with our Google rankings due to the site not being correctly optimised for the search engines.

“The significant drop in sales has given me many moments of despair and frustration but I believe in the business and know I can make it work. The thing I find most challenging is working on my own, although a couple of my friends have now become my 'unofficial' business partners!”

To make matters even more challenging, Coral decided to implement the re-launch whilst pregnant with her 4^th child!

“Finally, I feel we have come through a 2 year steep learning curve and we are now ready for the big push!”

For many of you who may be unfamiliar with exactly what is it that Darling & Darling offer, Coral has created a specialised gift service that maintains at its heart, the sense of family and uniqueness.

A recent addition to Coral’s ever growing collection of gifts is the Jemma Kidd “memory days” initiative, which offers an exclusive makeover day for mothers. “The media loves its labels and in general terms a “Yummy Mummy” points to a section of young mothers who are trendy, fashion conscious and very aware of a life outside of being a parent. However, in truth, many women in this modern era are too busy to fit the term although Coral Garlick and Jemma Kidd feel they may have the perfect answer.

“As someone who is onto her 4^th child, I know how difficult it is just to stand in front of the mirror for 5 minutes and apply some make up. Even a simple task like that is competing with nappy changes, school runs and packed-lunches so very often trying to make yourself look presentable – let alone beautiful – comes in a distant last behind all these other more pressing concerns.

The Jemma Kidd Make-Up School for Yummy Mummys is designed to teach time-saving skills that will help every woman achieve beautiful make-up in a minimal amount of time.

“Using a few tried and tested methods, you can discover how to create a radiant, natural day and evening look in a fairly effortless fashion. Jemma Kidd’s guide allows you to uncover the quick, secret professional make-up artist tricks and techniques that will make you “Yummy” in seconds.

“To help us promote this philosophy, we decided to create Yummy Mummy parties and organisers can even hold them at home, so that the atmosphere remains relaxed and un-pressured. This isn’t about the hard sell.”

There is also the opportunity for mum’s to visit the Jemma Kidd Make Up School in Notting Hill for the Yummy Mummy or Mother and Daughter Master Classes. These courses are hosted by professional tutors and offer the less experienced amongst us an insight into the “tricks of the trade”.

I was very excited about using their products and with the full range at my disposal, I set about some personal research of my own. With so many products and manufacturers on the market, it is easy to be sceptical and when you are trying to find what is right for your skin, it can sometimes be an expensive exercise, as well as a risky one if you’re not sure what to look out for. However, after an hour or so in the company of this range, I have to say I was impressed.

Stand-out products included the Pro Powder Brush, offering wonderful quality with no hair loss and a natural feel and finish to the face; the lip-line duo, which had excellent coverage and the Perfector Prep and Brightening Duo that was a unique eyeliner for widening and brightening the eyes. It also evens out skin tone and acts as a primer and base for shadow.

All in all, what I found most attractive about these products was their durability and kindness to the skin.

I can understand why Coral Garlick chose this great gift idea for Darling & Darling and as you have probably realised, I am now preaching their merits as one of the converted!

For more information check out their websites at www.darlingAndDarling.co.uk and www.jemmaKidd.com.

Poppy Watt