Home Page Haverhill News

Almost every day it seems the news is full of yet more doom and gloom about the economy, but for one new Suffolk company, Kidditoona Toys, the austerity cloud really has had a silver lining.

Just 18 months ago, Jacqueline Ryde found herself facing redundancy from a Haverhill company.

Although the future looked bleak, this proved to be the big push she needed to forge ahead with her dream to start her own business.

Today, despite one of the most difficult trading periods in living memory, Jacqueline’s has established a thriving online retail company - Kidditoona Toys.

Based in Kedington - which inspired the company name from its listing as Kiddituna in the Domesday Book - Kidditoona offers high quality toys and gifts for babies and children of all learning capabilities from birth to six years old.

Jacqueline said: “I was aware of the shift in customer purchasing patterns with consumers, looking to save money, turning more and more to the web.

"So I decided to pursue my interest in children’s toys and launch an online business that could offer competitive prices on a national platform.”

Having dipped her toes in the water on EBay, Jacqueline began trading in April 2011, launching Kidditoona’s e-commerce website the following September.

Jacqueline admits: “Starting a business from scratch is sheer hard work! It’s been a huge learning curve - I’ve really had to focus on improving my buying, sales, customer service and social networking skills!

“Commissioning a website was the biggest step I took - it was scary! In today’s climate you have to find ways of doing more with less but I knew it would be the cornerstone of my business and critical to its success.”

Haverhill-based web specialists, Pure Energy Multimedia, were given the job of getting the business online.

Jacqueline said: “Pure Energy was personally recommended to me and I was really impressed by what the team had to offer.

"They understood the brief perfectly and came back with some fantastic visuals and practical ideas that give the site a wow factor.

"Their technical skills also ensure it's super efficient and performs really well in the search engines. They have supported me all the way and I’ve stopped feeling scared!

“In all honesty, it’s been a magic carpet ride ever since…”

Kidditoona Toys will be at Haverhill Arts Centre on September 14. www.kidditoonatoys.com