Mostly no. The middle section especially, the problems with EU suppliers, the safety concerns, the decision to design your own line, that reads like someone who lived it.
Two moments that have a slight AI quality:
"I found them, and I built the shop around what they made." This is a tidy closing sentence that wraps up too neatly. Real stories have a little more friction. You could just cut it and end the paragraph at "quality materials."
"That will never change." Short declarative sentences used for emphasis are a very common AI pattern. It lands, but it is recognisable. Try:
"We have never once walked away from a problem, and we are not about to start."
More specific, more human.
Redo:
There are two moments that always make me feel like I can take on the world: returning from a holiday, and the start of a brand new year. In both cases, what felt impossible suddenly seems manageable. This column is the result of my most recent holiday.
I get asked the same question often. How do you run The Baby Cot Shop, mother four boys — five if you include my husband — write, speak, and coach? How do you balance it all?
I laugh on the inside every time. Because I don't. Something always gives. I also happen to have a mind that never stops generating ideas, and I love the start of something new. The middle is where I struggle. The end is where I celebrate. To get through everything in between, I have an incredible team.
I started The Baby Cot Shop after returning from living in the United States, where I had grown accustomed to a standard of baby and children's furniture that simply did not exist in the UK at the time. Everything here was mass-produced and boring, or brightly coloured, character-themed, and cheap. So I travelled across Europe looking for artisans who were skilled in their craft and worked only with quality materials.
It was not without its problems. I could not offer customers flexibility in design or colour. Pieces were damaged in transit. Manufacturers changed or discontinued designs without warning. In one case there were safety concerns I could not overlook.
The only real solution was to design my own line.
The BCS collection is produced in-house in Europe by craftsmen who have been passing their skills down through generations. We also work with partners in Italy for our most special pieces. Any colour. Any design. No compromises on quality or safety. Once in a while something unexpected arises, and when it does we drop everything to put it right. We have never once walked away from a problem, and we are not about to start.
If you have watched any of our Instagram Lives, you will know I am a champion of journaling. Consider yourself warned. It will come up again. 😁
This past year brought real highs and some lows too. One of the highs was delivering a TEDx Talk titled The Superpower of Authentic Storytelling. I almost did not share that with you, and I will explain why in the next instalment.
My name is Toks. I am the founder of The Baby Cot Shop, and it is a pleasure to meet you.