What is March Muses?
March Muses is the leading seller of diverse Christmas decorations in the UK. The brand aims to enrich celebrations by offering Christmas tree decorations and Angels of colour, particularly for Black People. Their every decoration is a vibrant symbol of cultural representation, infusing festivals with love, inclusivity, traditions, happiness and warmth.
March Muses is on a mission to redefine festivals by promoting and embracing cultural and ethnic diversity. The innovative business designs a variety of handmade Santa Baubles, Black Angels and Christmas decorations, focusing on their body shape, size, skin tone, clothes and hair design. Moreover, March Muses has emerged as a unique, innovative and inclusive brand in a market often saturated with conventional Christmas decorations.
Apart from offering beautiful decor, the brand advocates the narrative of inclusivity and diversity by creating ornaments that reflect the rich tapestry of ethnicities and cultures.
Significance of March Muses
March Muses offers a variety of Christmas decorations, gifts and greeting cards. The brand sells hanging decorations, Birthday Cards, elves, Mugs, Love Cards, Socks, Wrapping Papers, Cupid Cards, a wide range of ornaments, and the list continues. They also offer a variety of figurines, Cushion covers, Duvet Sets, Display Decorations, Wedding Cake Toppers and much more.
The company pays close attention to details and quality by working attentively with an international supplier to bring their products to life. Being the only brand in the UK to design a complete range of Black Christmas decorations, they have become a trailblazer in the festival decoration market. Additionally, the UK-based startup embraces inclusivity by adorning its celebrations with ornaments and gifts that resemble the true spirit of unity in diversity.
Moreover, March Muses actively engages in community initiatives and collaborates with creators, artists and organisations that promote diversity. The brand continues to lighten the festival season with happiness, warmth and vibrancy.
Who is the Founder of March Muses
Natalie Duvall and Alison Burton founded March Muses in 2019 to diversify Christmas, holidays, festivals and other celebrations. Currently, Natalie Duvall is the Creative Director at March Muses. The entrepreneur also serves as Culture Marketing Manager at Redbull UK.
Duvall champions creativity, diversity and inclusion throughout all her work. She has an interest and expertise in entrepreneurship, business, acting, and pop culture.
Natalie is an experienced panellist and well-versed speaker who has appeared on BBC, ITV, and Channel. She has also spoken at several business events, including Nike Women, CAA Business Spotlight and Black Investor 360. Moreover, she is an Actress, cultural commentator, seasoned anchor, podcaster and Head of Events for the award-winning Black Mums Upfront Podcast.
Alison Burton is the Project Director at March Muses. The mumpreneur is famous as a Principal Recruiter in the pharmaceutical industry. She is professional in recruiting staff related to Clinical Operations and Life Sciences in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the US. Moreover, she works for major global companies in the world.
Alison also has extensive recruitment experience, hiring talented, skilled, and deserving candidates for successful and established urban companies. With a great understanding of entrepreneurship and corporate across many sectors, Alison has conducted multiple career workshops to support female entrepreneurs and young individuals.
Burton has developed several emerging businesses by connecting them with several prominent clients. Moreover, she has expertise in running multiple high-volume recruitment campaigns, gaining repeat business and establishing relationships with international companies. During this time, the entrepreneur also used her business knowledge and recruitment skills to mentor teenagers and women within the local community.
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The Pitch of March Muses on Dragons’ Den
March Muses appeared on Dragons’ Den in April 2022. Mumpreneurs Natalie and Alison sought a £50k investment for a 15% stake in the business. While pitching their product on Dragon’ Den, the duo explained how their brand was born.
Duvall said: “In 2018, while I and my seven-year-old daughter were decorating our Christmas tree, she asked me, ‘Mom, can Christmas fairies be Black?’ I was not expecting that question. I was quite upset as I realised there were no black Christmas decorations in the UK.”
To redefine festivals, Alison and Natalie established March Muses in 2019. They started their entrepreneurial journey from their kitchens in Croydon. In a short time, they scaled their business and achieved admirable success by obtaining product listings in Liberty London and Selfridges.
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After a year, March Muses generated an impressive revenue of over £73,000. Alison said, “Since we both are single mothers with full-time jobs, it was a big achievement for both of us.”
Following a tough grilling from the multimillionaire dragons about the company’s valuation, its products, potential and price, Deborah Meaden made an offer. She proposed to invest £50k in March Muses for 33.3% of the company. Peter Jones outbid Meaden by offering to give the asked money for 30% of the business.
However, Jones explained he would love to share the investment with Meaden at 15% each. After a short discussion, Duvall and Burton received 50k from Meaden and Jones for a 30% stake in the business.
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Where is March Muses Now?
March Muses is the leading retailer of Christmas decorations in the UK. The brand believes in making celebrations fun for everyone. The startup truly defines creativity, happiness, love, diversity, tradition, warmth, vibrancy, and inclusion in the holidays, celebrations and festivals.
Moreover, the brand’s appearance on Dragons’ Den has helped March Muses achieve success and increase its popularity and sales. They also aim to offer theme-based, birthday, wedding, christening, Father’s Day and Mother’s Day products.
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Additionally, Peter’s and Deborah’s investment has helped Duvall and Burton to expand their business. March Muses currently offer a unique range of decorations, figurines, greeting cards, and gift wraps, and the list continues.
With a commitment to inclusivity, the company has gained over 13.6k followers on the popular social networking platform- Instagram. March Muses is the perfect example of innovation, equality, diversity, celebration, inclusivity, community engagement and commitment to quality. The brand aims to reach new milestones and shine brighter, selling one decoration at a time!