As Seen at The Mum Club Collection: How One Mum Club Event Changed Everything

Last year, I attended my very first The Mum Club event as a pop-up at The Mum Club Leeds.

At the time, Ellor & Co, still known then as Baby Ellor, was very much a little business run around family life, nursery pick-ups, and late nights packing orders at the kitchen table.

I remember walking into the event and looking over at the play mat, where all the little ones were happily playing while their mums chatted, relaxed, and enjoyed a hot drink.

I wanted little ones to enjoy our toys while their mums took a moment for themselves. I wanted parents to feel at ease knowing their children were entertained, engaged, and happy.

That feeling stayed with me long after the event.

Then the real hard work began.

This partnership was a huge investment for our small business. Honestly, it was a lot.

I was exhausted, slightly stressed, and questioning myself daily. My partner was juggling two jobs to support my dream and our family, my mum stepped in to help wherever she could, and there was no investment behind us.

Just whatever money we had, and a lot of determination, to somehow pull it all together.

We spent late nights preparing the orders, the kitchen was covered, and we made more than a few early morning trips to the Royal Mail depot.

By the end of October, all 77 parcels were ready to go.

Practical Toys For Real Life

One of the things that made the partnership feel so right was knowing the toys were practical for real life.

Mum Club events are busy, sociable, and full of little ones at different stages. The toys needed to be safe, engaging, easy to clean, and suitable for open-ended play.

After every event, they can simply be washed in warm soapy water or popped straight into the dishwasher, ready for the next brunch.

That matters so much to us.

We have always wanted Ellor & Co toys to be beautiful, thoughtful, and useful. Not toys that look lovely for a few weeks and then get forgotten, but pieces children can come back to again and again.

Toys for pouring, stacking, sorting, teething, building, imagining, and playing in their own way.

A Little Thank You To Dise Group

And then there were the bags.

A huge thank you goes to the amazing team at Dise Group for helping us create reusable cotton bags for every franchise to store the toys in.

Not only did they look beautiful, but they also made transporting and organising the toys so much easier for every host.

It was one of those finishing touches that made the whole partnership feel even more special.

The Moment Things Started To Build

That partnership really marked the beginning of something bigger for Ellor & Co.

Although, to be fair, the business is still very much run from my kitchen table most days!

We are now five months into the partnership, and I’ll be honest, at the start of the year I genuinely thought it would instantly go viral.

Maybe that’s me showing my age, but I had completely overhyped it in my own head.

And slowly but surely, things started building.

Seeing children genuinely enjoy our products in real life settings has meant so much.

Watching mums find toys that are practical, calming, easy to clean, and designed to grow with their child has been incredibly special.

The beauty of this collection is that it really is designed to grow with your child.

From teething babies exploring textures and shapes, to toddlers stacking, sorting, and pouring, right through to preschool role play and imaginative play, these are toys made to last.

They are simple, open-ended, and easy to love. No complicated setups. No noisy distractions. Just thoughtful play toys that children can use in their own way, at their own stage.

From One Event In Leeds To Mum Club Brunches Across The UK

I also want to take a moment to thank every single Mum Club franchisee who has supported us over the past few months.

Your encouragement, kindness, and belief in our little business has meant more than you will ever know.

As a small business owner, it can sometimes feel lonely building something from the ground up, but this partnership has genuinely made me feel part of something special.

And for that, I will always be grateful.

From one event in Leeds to seeing Ellor & Co toys at Mum Club brunches across the UK, it still feels a little bit magical.