I’m Jemma and last November I set up Tiny Boo, a play space specifically for the under-5s at HEART in the centre of Headingley.
I’m a graduate of Leeds Arts University with a decade of retail Head Office experience. However after becoming a mum and being made redundant on maternity leave, I wanted to do something with a little bit of goodness about it. I spent months thinking about it, about not all families having the support of relatives, or friends, or even the mental stability required to parent! About not all mums having someone to talk to, or to complain to or even the capability to meet other mums when on maternity leave! It can be isolating, and it IS difficult!
I knew from first-hand experience that Headingley wasn’t great at catering for this market, so I had an idea – a play space, an easy on the eye play space! Somewhere where mums can enjoy a coffee and the experience is for everyone, not just the kids. A friendly place where parents can come to meet other parents, where no judgement will be cast and you can talk to other adults. So I left my job and I made Tiny Boo!
We also have classes, meet-ups and workshops to keep you busy. The lovely Rebecca from Little Bunny Bear offers a potty training Masterclass which has been hugely successful so far, and our next is on 8 June. The Gentle Parenting group hold regular meet-ups here, and we also have Mother and Baby yoga … tailored to the achey mums!
My retail skills have also come in handy, we have a small gift shop that will be expanding over the coming months! We sell toddler and baby gifting, as well as beautiful Wolf and Moon Jewellery. The gift shop carries the same ethos as the play space – minimal plastic and responsibly sourced.
As we head into the summer months, the call for an indoor space isn’t so great, so we’re currently running a Kickstarter to develop outdoor space in front of HEART. This will be adjacent to our current offering and means that you can pop along to have your cake and eat it, outside!
Furthermore, we’ll be growing the sensory wall over the next couple of weeks to make sure our space is accessible to babies and toddlers of all development stages.
So far, we have created a great community here at Tiny Boo, so if you’ve not yet checked us out, please do! And so far the reviews and the comments have been overwhelmingly positive and kind ...
"What a fabulous place, Max and I spent a few hours this morning checking out the newly opened Tiny Boo in Headingley. HIGHLY recommend for anyone local who has pre-schoolers. I have a feeling this place will make a massive difference to the community! #wewillbeback“
You can read more about kickstarter and see our plans here...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tinyboo/the-tiny-outdoors?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=tiny%20outdoors
Jemma Pendlebury, Tiny Boo
HEART Centre, Bennett Road, Leeds LS6 3HN
07568 172547
https://www.tinyboo.co.uk/childrens-play-centre-headingley/
