Five minutes with... Lois and Zoe Buchanan of Little Big Star
At Hood, we’re champions of independent female businesses, and when we spot one that we think our readers will love, we get all excited about sharing it with you!
Today we’re chatting to sisters Lois and Zoe Buchanan, a visual merchandiser and gifts brand founder respectively, who have just launched Little Big Star, Scotland’s premier children’s party-styling and planning service. A lifesaver for busy mums, we think this is one you’ll want to know more about…
So, what is Little Big Star – can you tell us about the business and how it all works?
Little Big Star is a party styling business, which specialises in creating beautiful themed children’s parties. We aim to create a stylish event that’s bespoke to your needs; we bring the event to life in your home or chosen venue, and make it hassle-free!
We supply everything that you would need to make the event a magical memory, including dress-up for the little ones, themed tableware and props, party bags, balloons, decorations… even the tables and chairs. Our favourite themes are ‘Unicorn’, ‘Woodland Fairy Tea Party’, ‘Mermaid’ and ‘Superhero’, but we have lots more and can tailor anything to our client’s needs. We do super cute baby showers and gender reveal parties too!
Sounds exciting! Children’s parties are definitely becoming more popular, and bigger and better than ever before – why do you think that is? Is celebrity influence playing a part?
In the celebrity world, everything is larger than life, but in the real world, it’s all about making memories. These days, with everyone having such busy lives, it’s important for people to stop for a moment and take time to celebrate the milestones in life.
Some of our fondest childhood memories are of birthday parties with family and friends; it was never over the top, but it was our special day, doing something we love. That’s what we wanted to bring to our clients – at Little Big Star, we cater for all needs, big and small.
What are the trends that you predict parents will be requesting in 2019 for their children’s parties?
‘Unicorn’, ‘Mermaid’ and ‘Woodland Fairy’ aren’t going anywhere for 2019, so we expect these to continue in popularity. We’re also in the middle of developing some new and exciting themes – think Mexican Summer, Bold Rainbow and Arabian Nights. Any character themes that tie in with movies and TV shows are always super popular too.
And aside from themes, doughnut walls, organic number cakes and organic balloon displays all continue to be on trend too – and they’re not just for kids!
You’ve both had very exciting careers so far, so what made you want to set up Little Big Star?
We’ve always loved hosting parties and planning events together for family and friends, so it’s been a shared passion for a very long time. With Zoe’s PR and event-planning experience, and Lois’s visual merchandising background, it’s a perfect pairing to do something creative together.
We both also wanted to find jobs which we could absolutely love, but that would also give us the flexibility to work around busy home lives. We love what we do and launching Little Big Star has given us this opportunity.
Of course, you’re sisters – so what’s the best part about working together?
The best thing about doing this together is spending more time together! We’re so aligned in our thinking which helps, and it’s lots of fun setting up parties, developing new ideas and researching the next big trends. We have an office in Lois’s garden, and as Zoe lives really close by, we can get time out of our busy days to brainstorm at Little Big Star HQ!
It sounds like you’re both very busy women. Which one item should every woman have in her life to be as organised as you?
Our phones (and a charger!). We have a shared calendar so that we can keep on top of what we have on, and what’s coming up, and we use social media to share what Little Big Star has going on. We love Pinterest; there are so many amazing ideas for props, themes, balloons and decorations – we probably have far too many pins and boards…