Who we are: 6 things you might not know about the Parrot Street team

Sarah and Emily

1. There are only two of us

We are two mums and long-time friends. We launched Parrot Street last year after a particularly inspiring mid-morning cup of coffee. We’ve got a fabulous network of friends and family who have given us loads of support, but it’s still just the two of us doing everything from choosing the books to creating the content for our packs to boxing them up … and making the tea.

2. We go back a long way

We were at school together and have known each other since we were 11 – although if you’d told us then that one day we’d be running a business together we wouldn’t have believed you!

3. We launched our first book club 15 years ago

It will come as no surprise that we love reading and talking about books. In fact we launched our first book club with a gang of friends when we were sharing a house in London 15 years ago – and it’s still going strong today.

4. We’ve got a tribe of five children between us

We are mums to two boys (Sarah) and three girls (Emily) aged from 9 to 2 years old. They are the best of friends and always have a ball when they get together, which is lucky for us since we regularly end up combining business meetings and playdates.

5. All our big decisions are made around the kitchen table

We run Parrot Street from home, which means a lot of meetings around the kitchen table and easy access to tea and biscuits. It also means we can pick up our children from school most days – they’re a big part of our business, having inspired the idea and playing a crucial role in road-testing our book choices and activity ideas.

6. We love a bit of karaoke

We are lucky to live just a few streets away from each other in New Malden, which is between Wimbledon and Kingston in South West London. We love it for the many Korean restaurants and supermarkets on our high street – and, of course, the karaoke bars!


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