Rose Slocombe celebrated 20 years of working for the company last month, having joined in 2002, soon after Hippychick was founded.
- 5,000 Wheelybugs
- 9,000 Christmas toys
- 20,000 Hipster Baby Carriers
That’s how many items Rose Slocombe estimates she has wrapped and dispatched during her 20 years of service at Hippychick.
Julia Minchin, Hippychick founder, explained: “At the beginning it was just me and a friend (who had offered to help) managing everything, including despatching our founding product, the Hippychick Hipseat. At the time, it was an absolutely revolutionary baby carrier and immediately went stellar with new parents.
“Hipseats were piled up all over our sitting room floor, up the stairs, in the garage, literally in every available space. That’s when Rose joined us, and thankfully she’s been with Hippychick ever since.
“She was affectionately referred to as ‘Downstairs Rose’ by our children, as we had another Rose working part time upstairs in the office.”
Since then, Hippychick has evolved and moved into its Bridgwater premises, where it has been for 19 years, and Rose has remained a constant, executing her wrapping skills with efficiency and aplomb to meet the demand for orders.
Rose commented: “Looking back over 20 years, so much has changed. Everything improved when we moved into the warehouse, as there was space to store things in designated places. The business grew with more staff, each bringing their own knowledge and personalities. I’ve seen lots of colleagues come and go and have kept friends with most.
“From not being at all technical over the the years, I’ve learnt a lot, expanding my skills and knowledge with the help from my colleagues. From driving the forklift, helping unload containers, to gift wrapping. I am one small cog in a well oiled machine.
“I feel privileged to have spent the past 20 years working in this family run business with all colleagues and friends past and present.”
Rose has been featured in the media several times, offering video demos and hints and tips for how to wrap Christmas gifts.
To reward her efforts, as well as her impressive length of service at Hippychick, Rose was presented with a Wheelybug replica cake by husband and wife owners of Hippychick, Julia and Jeremy Minchin, as well as a potted rose and a magnum of champagne.
