MADE redundant when seven months pregnant, Desriee Aomuyide was then left as a single mum by her partner a DAY after giving birth.
That double blow would leave many reeling, but she turned her fortunes around by launching an award-winning range of educational toys featuring children of colour after spotting a gap in the market.
Desriee, 29, who has Nigerian heritage and grew up in Hornchurch, Essex, was devastated when her job as a fashion stylist came to an abrupt end, meaning she could not take the paid maternity leave she had planned.
She says: “When I found out, I cried and cried. I didn’t know what to do. I just kept thinking, ‘Who will take on a woman who is seven months pregnant?’.
“I started making websites for people. I did this until I was eight and a half months pregnant just to make sure I had an income.
“It didn’t feel great because that’s the point when you’re supposed to be relaxing.
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“I wasn’t in the best place but the only thing that gave me joy at that time was my son being due to be born.
‘Every time my son napped, I worked’
“I had to focus on the positives, not the negatives.”
Before giving birth to Isaiah, now two, Desriee was treated to a baby shower by friends and family.
But after being given toys and books for her baby, she noticed there was a lack of learning materials that depicted children of colour.
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She says: “When I went home after my baby shower, I noticed that the flashcards given to me had predominantly white characters in them.
“I started to wonder how I would be able to show my son these materials which didn’t represent him.”
So she began searching online to find learning materials that represented black children.
She says: “I spent time looking on Amazon, eBay and department store websites but search results for ‘learning materials for black children’ were things like Batman costumes and black biker gloves.”
Using her degree in fashion design, Desriee set to work.
She says: “I started to sketch things out and create a brand. I started off with the Alphabet and the Parts Of The Body flashcards. My favourite even now is the Parts Of The Body flashcards set because it shows brown skin complexions.
“It’s really important, not just for people of colour but for white children as well, to see that representation. I put £1,000 of my own money into the business. It was a risk I had to take — I had a son coming into the world, it’s not just about me any more, it’s about him.”
Desriee’s relationship with her partner disintegrated just one day after Isaiah’s birth.
She says: “This was very hard for me and it was traumatic but it really pushed me to continue. I said to myself, ‘You have to keep going’, and I kept on going.
“I gave myself two weeks to rest after Isaiah’s birth and then continued working. Every time my son napped, I would work. I worked six hours every day during this period and only took a week off because I got really ill.”
Every time my son napped, I would work.
Desriee soon launched her collection of inclusive and educational toys and puzzles aimed at helping children from diverse backgrounds feel included.
Called Little Omo, the learning materials also feature ethnic foods like plantain, okra and sugarcane, which will resonate with black and brown children.
“I chose that name because Omo in Yoruba, a Nigerian language, means child,” she explains.
Desriee’s line of toys and puzzles has been praised by TV presenter Rochelle Humes and singer Kelly Rowland.
Little Omo now turns over £40,000 a year and has won numerous awards. It also won a contract with Sainsbury’s for Black History Month 2021 and had its greeting cards stocked in stores nationwide.
Desriee says: “My son is at nursery and they have the whole range there. The manager said she has never seen products like these before.
“Even people in the toy industry said that while they’d seen companies creating black, brown, Asian and mixed-race dolls, they hadn’t previously come across learning materials like mine.
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“That was when I knew I had touched on something that was really key. It is challenging. It has just been me in the business so I do a lot of things: Packing orders, working on the website, contacting buyers.
“As a brand, the focus now is expanding globally. I’m working on partnerships with other brands. I’m also in talks with retailers.”
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