About Stokke Lovers
Stokke Lovers is an independent, British blog for the discerning Stokke user at large. Owned, written and edited in its entirety by the original Stokke Lover Sian To.
Siân's Stokke love affair began in 2000 with the birth of her second child, Sonny. She lusted and longed for a Tripp Trapp chair but fell foul to her carefully planned budget.
Cheap highchair installed but with a longing that simply refused to die, she threw caution to the wind and little Sonny found himself owner of the familys first Tripp Trapp and promoted to head of the family table. A spot that was to be his, until a younger sister, Biba, with a newer Tripp Trapp took over in a civil coup some 14 months later.
The following year, another daughter, Betty arrived, only this time Sian had the valid excuse she needed to buy the Stokke Sleepi that had been dominating her dreams for months!
Back at work, post-birth, Siân decided to follow her dream. She contacted Stokke, pitched her PR services and kept her fingers crossed. Proof that good things happen to good people and totally taken by her brand passion and product knowledge, they swept her up and put her to work on the 2003 launch of the (soon to be award-winning), revolutionary, Stokke Xplory.
The rest, they say, is history. Siân spent the next ten years as consultant PR manager to Stokke in the UK and an integral cog of the global brand marketing team in Norway.
In September of 2014, Siân did, what many thought she would never, ever do and resigned as PR and outward face of Stokke UK, to concentrate on the ever-growing social media side of her business but with Stokke still flowing through her blood.
Siân cites the two highlights of her ten years with the brand as being:
1. Meeting, interviewing and becoming friends with the amazing “Tripp Trapp daddy”, Peter Opsvik; and
2. Naming a product! Yes, officially naming the Stokke Xplory Rider Board became an epic, life moment! One that was ultimately not to last though as some years later they changed the name to Stokke Xplory Sibling Board. It doesn't quite have the same ring to it but hey, I took the proud moment of glory.
She retained StokkeLovers.com, this site she created and launched in her spare time in 2010, and retired from the (now huge) private Facebook community hub, Stokke Lovers Seller Page.
Her precious first Tripp Trapp purchase is still at the table and is still in use every single day by Sonny, (now aged 16 and 6ft tall). It turns out after sixteen years of use that it was pretty good value for money after all!
Fast forward to 2017 and following a phone call out of the blue a seed was set and Siân was asked to return to the UK team. After a couple of months in a consultant marketing role, she was asked to jump right back in where she left things in 2014 as the UK PR and social media manager.
Siân's Favourite Stokke Products
1. Tripp Trapp
Tripp Trapp is a true design icon. So simple in its magnificence and usability, the epitome of modern style but with a 45-year heritage. The fact that we share the birth year of 1972, cemented my love and admiration. We were destined to change each other. Silly? Maybe, but my love and passion for this beautiful icon is at the core of my success as Stokke PR. It is all about the love shared!
2. Stokke Xplory
Xplory and I were the new guys on the team together back in 2003 and we both had something to prove. As a mum, I had one of the very first Xplory's in the UK. It was quite a special feeling, being on the front line of something so different and revolutionary. I'd like to say that the consumer at large fell instantly in love with the 'unique' look but as a nation, we are resistant to change and it took lots of hard work and determination from the entire UK team to build the market to where it is today. The success of Stokke Xplory is something that I'm really proud to have been involved in.
I've been involved with Xplory from the start and am so happy that I returned to Stokke in time to also play my part in the launch of the new Stokke Xplory V6. The updates new updates tackle the two features that continued to challenge since the V1 launch, the fold and the footrest. You can read all about them in my Xplory V6 First Look post.
