Get to know the founders – Clare and Paul

Clare and Paul Hanson are the couple behind The Children’s Furniture Company. Here’s a special Q&A with Clare about bunk bed obstacle courses, bedroom discos, and how their own children inspired them to start the business…

Why did you decide to start The Children’s Furniture Company and become founders?

It all began when our first daughter was two years old and just about to grow out of her cot. We started looking for children’s beds and everything out there seemed to be either much too pricey or too flimsy–looking. There were a lot of character-based beds that were quite cheap but we wanted something that looked great but would also last for a long time and be safe too.

So we spotted a gap in the market for something that was seriously solid and durable, but also affordable. Our first designs were the Hickory, Jango and Vanilla beds, and all three are still in our range, though they have evolved over time.

The more we got into it, the more we realised that there were lots more areas where practical family needs weren’t really being met. For example, there were loads of mid sleeper beds with desks, but few big enough to actually be used as desks – they were really just gimmicks. There were plenty of cute kids’ wardrobes and chests of drawers, but all were too small and didn’t make efficient use of space.

So the real opportunity in the market was for innovative design that solves everyday family furniture problems, as well as being aesthetically pleasing and fun.
 

Was it daunting to start up a business when you had young children at home?

We’d both worked in marketing – Paul in the financial and automotive sectors and me in media and pharmaceuticals – but we’d always fancied running our own company. So after a bit of mulling things over we just decided to go for it. Paul quit his job to start things up, and I followed a little while after.

Running a business is never easy – and nor is being a parent! But in many ways having our two daughters has been critical to the business. Watching them grow and discovering what they need helps us understand what other families need too – like lots of storage space for toys!

Are your girls particularly messy then?

Well, they’re chalk-and-cheese in a lot of ways, though neither is exactly tidy.

Our eldest is 8 and she is a real ‘secret squirrel’. All sorts of strange items – or ‘treasures’ I should say – somehow end up hidden in her bed. She gave us the idea for beds with lots of built–in storage – and right now she has a Butterworth mid sleeper bed with the special storage headboard, perfect for squirreling things away!

Our youngest is 5 and she is much more of a girly girl – the Holly bed with the heart motif was designed in her honour, and indeed she sleeps in one.

But they’re both bookworms so they have their own Hickory four-shelf bookcases. And they do both enjoy testing our furniture to the limits… leaping ballet performances and bedroom discos with their cousins spring to mind!

Apart from your daughters, what else inspires your furniture designs?

Just keeping an ear out for what families need is really important. I actually spend a fair bit of time lurking on mummy chat rooms – ideas like the Captain’s Beds came from reading the comment threads about the problems that parents have trying to host sleepovers.

Paul and I come up with some of the designs, and we also have Charlie – a brilliant, experienced furniture expert who initially worked with us as a consultant and then came onboard full-time as our inhouse designer.

We’re all keen on looking ahead, trying to keep ahead of the trends – practical stuff that parents need, but also colours and design ideas that can give a child’s bedroom the ‘wow’ factor.

And the guys in the factory are great for suggestions and tweaks to get things just right. They all understand we’re not making small versions of adult furniture, we’re making furniture for children.

What are the best (and worst) things about running The Children’s Furniture Company?

The biggest challenges are when you have to deal with things that are beyond your control – like when the ‘Beast from the East’ snowstorms hit in March 2018… The ports and roads were closed and made delivery virtually impossible for a few days. We had to rely on our customers being understanding, which mostly they were!

And I suppose the best bit is reading the lovely things customers say about us. We have a great rating on Trustpilot so when you do have a tough day it gives you a boost to see that parents appreciate the efforts you put in, and also that their kids really love our products and designs.

Children’s bedrooms are so important – your memories of them last for life – so it’s really gratifying to think we’re doing our little bit to sprinkle some magic onto them!

What are your memories of your own childhood bedrooms?

Well, Paul shared with his brother. They had bunk beds and an entirely football-themed room – although there was a bit of a red versus blue thing going on as Paul was the only one in the family who supported the local club Ipswich Town instead of Liverpool!

I’m the younger of two girls, so obviously my big sister always had the best, biggest, coolest bedroom. And I do remember being a bit jealous of one of my best friends who had bunk beds. We used to pull out the mattress from the bottom bunk and jump on it from the top as part of a Bedroom Obstacle Course (for some reason it didn’t occur to us that the grown-ups must be able to hear the endless banging as we landed). Not recommended, of course!

Having said that, I absolutely loved my bedroom. It went through a series of bold colour makeovers – first it was purple, then it became a Rainbow Room, and then in my teenage years it went through an unfortunate chintzy phase – I still don’t know what I was thinking there.

But heaven for me when I was little was hiding away in my Rainbow bedroom, reading my Judy Bloom and Enid Blyton books…

What’s next for The Children’s Furniture Company?

We have loads of big plans as it happens, including moving to a new, bigger office, teaming up with more trade partners and opening our first showroom.

Product-wise, our aim is to help children sleep, play and learn… We’ve done a lot on the sleep side of things with all our beds, so next we’d like to expand on the play and learn bits, with more desks, toy storage, bookshelves and so on. Not least because our own girls are using their playroom more and more as a homework room, so once again we’re learning from them!

And finally, what’s the strangest place you’ve ever had to sleep?

Once when I was little we had a family day trip to Jersey and high winds meant we got stranded overnight at Jersey Airport.

I don’t suppose my parents enjoyed it – those waiting lounge seats are deliberately made so that you can’t lie down on them – but my sister and I thought it was the greatest adventure ever… running round the boutiques, eating junk food – I can’t think we slept much, but it was magical!

Browse our range of practical, kid-tough, magical children’s furniture here.