CLAIRE Hunter and husband Chris run Dreamy Vinyls, offering personalised vinyls, heat transfers, gifts and seasonal items including clothing, to mark special occasions in people’s lives such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, christenings and other special occasions.
We spoke to Claire about the Bradford-based business, how they got started, and how it became a success.
Q: What did you work as before Claire?
A: Aged 16 I started working part-time at the Co-op, while studying at Hanson Academy. Three years later I had been promoted to store manager and managed various stores in Bradford and Halifax
Q: What year did you start Dreamy Vinyls and how did you get the business up and running?
A: In 2018, while I was on maternity leave, we were also planning our wedding. We decided to buy a Cricut machine to make our own signage and gifts. After showing our signage on Facebook wedding groups, I then started to help DIY brides create vinyls for their weddings. I drafted up a price list and every week the number of orders increased.
In 2019 when Harvey, our youngest son, was nine months old, I decided not to return to work and to expand Dreamy Vinyls, introducing further items - hen T-shirts, acrylic signs and a gift range including aprons, glasses, tote bags and water bottles.
I then came up with the name Dreamy Vinyls and opened a Facebook page.
Christopher and Claire with one of their signs
A wedding welcome sign
Q: Have you always been creative?
A: No, far from it.
Q: Did you road test your products at your own wedding?
A: Yes - in April 2019 we got married and used the vinyls to make our own signs. We gifted our families with personalised items, which they loved.
Q: When did Chris join you?
A: Chris helped out on his days off as I just couldn’t keep up with the turnaround due to the number of orders I was getting, and being a full time mum at the time. It was hard to juggle both.
Chris was made redundant in May 2020 during COVID and that’s when we took the massive risk to become a joint partnership and expand further into different products.
Aprons for Mr and Mrs Paterson
Page boys clutching personalised signs
Q: Where do you work on your products?
A: We work from a unit at our home in Eccleshill, and also use our spare room.
Q: What are your best-selling items and why do people like them?
A: Our best selling items are our aprons: we introduced these in 2019 after using them at our own wedding. We ship these out weekly.
Q: When did you start including items for kids?
A: We’ve always done ring/snack security cases and children’s hanging signs, as these were very popular when I began and still are - they have become two of our favourite items. We gradually introduced new products such as children’s aprons and personalised teddies, sometimes after requests from customers.
Smaller items include personalised glow foam sticks and
personalised sunglasses. They also produce personalised cold cups.
Q: Are ideas always coming into your head?
A: Yes, and sometimes we will get messages from customers asking us if we can produce/make a certain item; on many occasions this stems from customers recommending us on Facebook posts, or a family/friend asking whether something is possible. We will then look to sourcing the item and put our own spin on it, honouring the customer’s request and adding the Dreamy Vinyls touch.
Personalised cold cups
Personalised keepsake bags
Q: Do customers order from all over the world?
A: We ship all over the UK, however we do produce items for customers who may be getting married overseas, in countries such as Cyprus and Mexico.
Q: Do couples give you feedback?
A: Yes, we have a review section on our Facebook page and also on our website where you can find lots of positive reviews.
We always love to see customers’ wedding photos with our items displayed. That’s really rewarding for us.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Our youngest son Ethan started nursery part time in September and our oldest is already at full time school, so this has give us more time to focus and look to expand our business further with new products and new ideas.
Q: Please add anything else that you would like to say about your business.
A: At Dreamy Vinyls our prices can be tailored to suit individual budgets from DIY brides/grooms wanting to make their own items, to couples who are wanting items made specifically to suit their theme.
We also work alongside project/event coordinators where we will supply signage and vinyls for them at venues all over the country.
We have a website, which has been running for three years, and a presence on the social media platforms through which we can be contacted, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. We have more than 9000 followers on Facebook.
*For more details and to see the range of products visit the couple’s website dreamyvinyls.co.uk