A young entrepreneur has been bringing smiles to children’s faces through her fast-growing face painting business.
Maddie McGregor launched Maddie’s Magical Moments almost one year ago, putting to use the skills she first learned at eight years old when her grandmother bought her a face painting kit.
“By the time I was 10, I was going to birthday parties and summer fetes and painting the other children’s faces for 2p or 10p,” said Miss McGregor, from Harleston.
“I started doing face painting again last year for a friend while at university.
“She immediately said I needed to start a business. I hadn’t face painted in years, but it was absolutely great – I had a non-stop queue for four hours.
“From there, I started doing every event I could get my hands on and got my friend, Mia Joselyn, on board as my managing director. She does my social media and we bounce ideas off each other.
“We now do all sorts of events, from festivals to birthday parties.
“We have been all over Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex and I’ve even been to Glastonbury, which was insane. I learned so much in terms of elevating my work and business.”
Despite the appeal of major festivals, they also bring challenges, with higher pitch prices and a lot of behind-the-scenes work with travel and maintaining stock.
While more major festivals are on the horizon for Maddie’s Magical Moments, the core idea of the business has always been a simple one that can be found at any event.
“The best thing about running this business is that moment when you give a child a mirror to see their face and they light up with wonder,” said the 21-year-old. “That’s the magical moment the business is named after.
“We’ve become really well known among local children and we always have fun with them, telling them the glitter is fairy dust and making them smile.”
Maddie’s Magical Moments can be found on Facebook.
