O Baby, I love my new career on High Street
A FORMER soap star has set up shop in Muswell Hill after years on set in the Yorkshire Dales. Aly Spiro, who played Sarah Sugden in Emmerdale Farm until 2001, has taken a break from TV to open an organic baby store.
By Marijke Peters
A FORMER soap star has set up shop in Muswell Hill after years on set in the Yorkshire Dales.
Aly Spiro, who played Sarah Sugden in Emmerdale Farm until 2001, has taken a break from TV to open an organic baby store.
As well as selling handmade toys and accessories, O Baby on Fortis Green Road specialises in organic and fair-trade products.
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Ms Spiro said: "When I started doing Emmerdale it was two episodes a week and it went up and up until there were five. It really was enough for me and I wasn't spending enough time at home so I decided to do something different.
"I'd always wanted to have a shop but didn't know what it should be. Then I visited a trade fair and fell in love with the products and settled on this idea."
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Ms Spiro has concentrated on sourcing ethical suppliers and Muswell Hill mums have been flocking to the shop.
She said: "I've got three children and when they were babies none of these things were available in the shops.
"It's still hard to find organic stuff but when you do it's absolutely amazing.
"The products we sell come from all over the world but I'm very insistent people shouldn't be exploited when they make something.
"I have been careful about what I source and a lot of it comes from sustainable crops."
She has also tried to source as many local products as possible and is one of the first shops in Britain to sell sunproof babywear made by Gill Auld from Crouch End, who set up the Beeby Hart company a year ago with a friend.
The lightweight suit is made from UV resistant nylon which is shipped in from America.
Ms Auld said: "The idea came out of necessity - my business partner and I had five babies between us and realised there was nothing to keep them warm and dry without taking them out of the baby carrier every time.
"We have patented the idea but it takes a long time to get your money back from all the legal fees.
"We've had real interest from abroad and that's where this product will come into its own, it can go to all the hot countries where there's a lot of potential."
broadway@hamhigh.co.uk
