‘My housemate said it was creepy our flat was full of kids’ chairs’

Molly Meg in Essex Road. Picture: Roy Chacko (Image: Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.)

As a young girl Molly Price, the owner of the Essex Road store, collected toys, soaps and anything else she could get her hands on.

One of her teachers at William Tyndale Primary School in Upper Street drew a picture of Molly surrounded by her collection of stuff, like a less messy version of the Peanuts character Pig Pen.

Molly turned that childhood interest into her own business, which one customer described as a “wonder of delights”.

The origins of her business started with her buying vintage children’s chairs off eBay for fun.

But what started out as a hobby soon shifted to a business after her flatmate told her it was creepy that their flat was filled with children’s chairs.

Molly said: “When people would come over they would ask where they stored all the little people.”

After two years of collecting Molly was in the position of having too many chairs to know what to do with them, so she started selling them online.

The online business was so successful that she couldn’t manage it all from home any more.

Molly said: “Every room in the flat was like a warehouse – it just grew out of control.”

So Molly decided to open up her shop in Essex Road to take advantage of an underserved market.

She said: “There are hardly any kids’ shops in London so it makes you a bit different.”

Molly also helps up and coming designers by hosting workshops and pop ups in her shop.

She recognises that the support she received when she was starting out helped her get on her feet, so she’s happy to pay that forward for others who are starting out on their long journey towards becoming independent retailers.

Molly Meg is celebrating its 10th anniversary from 1pm to 4pm on April 27 with face painting, a tattoo station and lots of other fun activities for young and old.

See pictures and watch our video interview with Molly at islingtongazette.co.uk