Posted by Rachel Westall on 13 October 2025
After a successful career as a Sales Director in IT recruitment and raising two children, I felt called to do something more meaningful. Taking a career break, I explored self-development and volunteered with children's charities and schools. I saw firsthand how life skills and creative subjects were being cut from the curriculum, things that had shaped my own education. Inspired to fill that gap, I combined my business experience with a big dream and launched Splatter Make in south London, offering fun, hands-on classes like cooking, sewing, crafts and immersive theatre for schools. It was full-on, but incredibly rewarding!
How has the company evolved?
Fab Dab Do was born from both necessity and passion. As workshop costs increased and I took on the role of carer for my mum with Alzheimer's, I needed to restructure the business. During the 2020 lockdown, I transformed our much-loved T-shirt painting workshops into DIY kits right from a greenhouse studio, with no product development experience, just a clear vision and a 'can do' mindset.
We launched at the Spirit of Christmas Show in London with 600 kits and sold out—it was an incredible moment that confirmed we were on the right track. From there, we grew our online presence through our website, Etsy, and Not On The High Street. These platforms were great springboards, but as we grew, we shifted to focus on building our own brand presence.
2024 was a big year of development. We entered the wholesale market, exhibiting at major trade shows like Spring Fair and the London Stationery Show, with Home & Gift Harrogate next on the list. We also revamped our packaging to better suit retail shelves, adding helpful QR codes to answer common customer questions quickly and clearly.
After five years of direct selling, we know our customers inside and out. Every product is designed with their needs in mind. That's why being named a Finalist at the 2025 London International Stationery Show in the Children's Craft Product category was such a proud milestone—especially up against some of the industry's biggest names.
Fab Dab Do stands for 'Fabric Dabbing and Doing' and it's as fun as it sounds! The kids love the name; it really makes us smile! We specialise in reusable T-shirt painting kits that empower kids to create something truly personal. What makes us different is our unique dabber system, designed to reduce waste, avoid mess, and be just the right size for small hands. After lots of trial and error, we developed a squeeze-and-dab bottle that's easy to use, mess-minimising, and long-lasting. Our kits are sustainable, fun, and thoughtfully designed to spark imagination while keeping parents happy too!"
Talk us through the current products you're particularly excited about. Do you have a favourite?
We're always expanding our range, and one of the best parts of what we do is meeting customers face-to-face at festivals and workshops. Watching how kids use our products and hearing what they'd love to see next, it helps shape our designs and catalogue. Right now, we're especially excited about our new Guinea Pig stencil, soon to be added to our pet collection. We even visited a local petting farm to get the details just right, so it feels like their guinea pig! It reminds us of the reaction we got with our Doodle Dog stencil - cockapoo and labradoodle owners were thrilled to see their beloved pets represented. It's moments like that which make designing new products so rewarding.
Yes, definitely! Over the past couple of years, there's been a huge surge in interest around hobbies and crafts, something that really picked up momentum during lockdowns, when people had more time at home and began rediscovering the joy of making things with their hands. For many of us, it brought back memories of school days when crafts were a big part of the curriculum, when we learned to cook, sew, do woodwork, and take pride in creating something from scratch. Sadly, those life skill have been lost in recent generations, mainly due to schools wiping them off the curriculum, throw-away clothing, pre-made foods and if a parent hasn't been educated this way how can they pass on what they do not know. But what's exciting is there's comeback, people wanting and willing to do crafts and widen their hobbies because they can see the benefits and there are some amazing role models out there.
As parents become more aware of the negative impact too much screen time can have on children's development, there's a growing desire to bring balance back into family life. Crafting offers that balance perfectly, it's calming, creative, and encourages kids to think, explore, and express themselves without relying on a device.
One of the biggest trends we've noticed is a shift toward mindful and meaningful crafting. People want activities that not only help them relax but also leave them with something useful or heartfelt, like a personalised T-shirt, a homemade gift, or a decorated keepsake. There's also a noticeable rise in eco-conscious crafting, with more families choosing sustainable, upcycled, or reusable materials to reduce waste and be kinder to the planet. More parents and carers are turning to hands-on creative kits, like Fab Dab Do's mess-free T-shirt painting sets, to get children engaged in screen-free fun that also supports their learning and imagination. These kinds of activities are more than just crafts—they're moments of bonding and discovery. Plus, the mess-free is both good for the environment, takes the stress away from cleaning and people are aware of where they are spending their money, so a crafting activity that can be used many times in different ways makes sense to the savvy crafter/buyer.
What's even more beautiful is how grandparents are stepping in as creative role models. Their experience, patience, and love for traditional hands-on play can have a powerful influence on children. Sitting around a table with a grandparent, painting together or sharing stories while crafting, creates a sense of connection and calm that no screen can replace. It's a simple, joyful way to strengthen family bonds and pass down skills and values across generations. Crafting is clearly more than a trend, it's becoming an important way for families to reconnect, slow down, and enjoy real, meaningful moments together. As you can tell, I feel rather passionate about this!
We love building genuine relationships with our retailers, and once we understand who their customers are, we can recommend the most suitable products to match their business. For example, a zoo gift shop might be drawn to our animal-themed kits even matching to their most popular crowd puller, while a stationery or art store may find our paint sets and stencils a perfect fit. We're also happy to collaborate on bespoke options, creating tailored products that really speak to their audience.
We're currently working with five fantastic workshop/retail spaces, each with vibrant businesses and creative communities who've added Fab Dab Do to their offerings. With our Workshop and Retail Bundles, these partners can easily host classes during weekends or school holidays, making their locations go-to spots for screen-free fun and creativity.
Fab Dab Do parties are a hit, and we're excited to expand this model across the UK working with the workshop/retailers or places that already offer parties. If you're looking to expand your current offering and add a fun, creative experience to your retail space, we'd love to chat!
What sets you apart from your competitors?
Fab Dab Do kits are designed and made in the UK, offering a fun, mess-free way to create funky T-shirts and so much more. Everything needed is right in the box, making it perfect for kids aged five and up and fun for the whole family to join in too!
What really sets us apart is our focus on quality and reusability. Our durable stencils and unique paint dabbers are easy to use, long-lasting, and waste-free. Plus, the creativity doesn't stop after one project, customers can choose from full T-shirt Painting kits or individual items, making it easy to add more stencils and paint dabbers to keep the fun going.
It's not just a craft; it's a gift that feels personal and thoughtful. With so many options to pick and choose from, each kit becomes a creative experience tailored to the child. And because our stencils work on everything from paper to fabric to furniture, the possibilities are endless!
What are you looking forward to most over the next year?
We're so excited to see all our hard work come to life especially seeing Fab Dab Do kits, stencils and paints proudly displayed on shop shelves across the UK. It's a real buzz to watch people discover our products in person, we see this all the time when we are on the road, but we want to keep growing and reach more children! We're also really looking forward to growing our party and workshop side of the business, helping more families and communities enjoy creative, screen-free fun together.
What new products can we expect from you in the future?
We're excited to be developing a special range designed specifically for garden centres, a fresh twist with our T-shirt Painting Kits. These new products will bring our creative, hands-on approach to a nature and family time. We're aiming to have samples ready by July, just in time for our next show, and we can't wait to share what we've been working on!
FAB DAB DO
+44 (0)20 3745 2565
www.fabdabdo.co.uk
