Octopus Learning | Meet The Maker

This is part of uOpen’s ‘Meet The Maker’ interview series - your exclusive opportunity to get to know the real people and personalities behind the subscription boxes you know and love, and the ones you will soon come to!

Discover the fascinating stories behind how your favourite subscriptions originally came to be, the marvellous people involved in lovingly creating and curating each box, plus a few ‘behind the scenes’ snaps.

What sparked your decision to start up your box and how did you get started?

I was trying to find an educational, activity subscription box for my son; which would arrive addressed to him. I tried a few boxes on the market, but I couldn’t find quite what I was looking for. As a teacher, I also found that lots of friends were asking me for preschool activity ideas to support their child’s development and get them ready to start school.

So, using my 20 years of teaching experience, I decided to create my own subscription box. After lots of research groups, and help from a designer friend, the Octopus Learning characters and box were created! I wanted to inspire parents to create learning opportunities at home.

Describe your box in three words?

Preschool, educational, inspiring.

Where did your box name come from?

I wanted to use characters that children could relate to, and an octopus is one of the most intelligent creatures in the ocean. They are also good learners, flexible and perseverant. I also wanted to make the connection to having eight activities in my box.

Are you a creator or curator?

Creator.

What was your most popular box?

Our ‘autumn’ themed box got lots of great feedback because of the practical activities and the variety of resources included.

How many people are involved with producing your subscription box?

Three.

Which subscription boxes do you subscribe to?

Graze.

Name a celebrity subscriber you’d love to have as a customer?

Kate and William - I think George would love it!

If you could put anything in your box, with money or scarcity no object, what would it be?

I'd like to include lots of additional, engaging resources to support my variety of educational activity cards.

What do you love about uOpen?

Simply the variety of high-quality subscription boxes, all available in one place.