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Brides Up North has fallen in love with these little people!  A teeny tiny titchy talking point that is personalised to you – why wouldn’t you make Little Folk Toppers the guests of honour on your big day?  They’ll be the cherry on top of your wedding cake!

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How did Little Folk Toppers begin?

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Little Folk evolved from my cake business.  I began making cakes back in the 80′s for my children when they were little, this extended to making them for family and friends until eventually I started a little home business, but this was put on hold when we moved from Lancashire to Devon in 2002.  I restarted the business in 2008 and did very well specialising in novelty cakes, but I quickly realised that it was no longer making the cakes that gave me the most satisfaction – it was making the decorations to go on the cakes – so in late 2009 Sophisticakes became Little Folk Toppers and the rest as they say is history!

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Tell Brides Up North a bit about your toppers…

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Each topper is made with great care by hand to exact customer specifications and no two toppers will ever be the same.  I have tried to provide a service which is accessible to anyone no matter what their budget may be, so alongside my 2 styles of bespoke toppers, I also stock a large range of commercially manufactured toppers.  These can be mixed and matched with my "budget" style bespoke toppers.  In effect my customers have 4 choices when purchasing their toppers.  For tight budgets, the commercial toppers are great but they are basic.  The next level would be to have a commercially made bride paired with a Little Folk budget groom or vice versa.  Then you move onto a pair of budget models and finally the more detailed models with more realistic features and painted eyes.  I try to get as much detail into the outfits, hairstyles and flowers as I can but I do not replicate faces.  The toppers are more of a representation of the subjects than exact copies, though I do pick out distinguishing features such as dimples, freckles etc.

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What are the toppers made of and how do you make them?
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The toppers are all made from Polymer Clay, which is baked in an oven and gives you a good solid model.

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The toppers begin life as a wire and foil armiture and will go through up to 3 x 30 minute bakes in the oven.  The head, body and legs are sculpted over the armiture and then baked, this gives a good solid model on which to begin building up the outfit and hairstyle.  Once the hair and outfit are done, the model is baked again.  The final stage consists of adding details to the outfit, any jewellery and flowers and the arms (the arms are always added last as this makes dressing the model and adding details to the outfit much easier), the model is then baked for the final time.  Once the models have cooled, they are checked for any defects, shoes and any other items required will be glazed to make them shiny and any painting will be done.

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How long does a pair of toppers take to make?
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The time taken can vary from a day to up to 5 weeks.  A straight forward pair of budget toppers could be made in a day if I am able to solely concentrate on them without the usual distractions that go with running your own business!  A more complicated model can take some time. 

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How do you make sure that the toppers look like the Bride and Groom?

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I always pick out distinguishing features and a lot of time and effort goes into the outfits, hairstyles, flowers and so on, making the models recognisable as the subjects.

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Which are your favourite toppers that you have made?

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I love the policeman and bride topper which I use in my ads, but also the Viking bride and groom as they were really fun to make and really colourful.
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Any really memorable toppers that you have created?
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I think probably the most memorable was the Queen’s Guard & Statue of Liberty wedding topper, the bride was American and the groom British and they wanted to depict that in their topper.  The Statue of Liberty took me over a week to make due to the detailing.  The toppers were taken over to America for the wedding! 
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What celebrity couple would you like to make a pair of toppers for?
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Matt Bellamy & Kate Hudson!  My son Matt loves Muse as do most of our family and they hail from Teignmouth which is the next town along the coast from us!  
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Can you give Brides Up North an idea on price?
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A budget pair of personalised toppers are £40, the detailed personalised toppers are £65.  Pets can be added as can vehicles and props such as skis, sign posts, whatever really!  A price guide can be found on our website.  
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Can you do a discount for Brides Up North readers?
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I would be delighted to offer a 10% discount off any personalised topper order, please quote Brides Up North when contacting me. 
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How far in advance should Brides Up North place their order?
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There is very limited space left for 2011 and 2012 is already beginning to look like a very busy year, so really the sooner the better and ideally a minimum of three months before the required date, though it is sometimes possible to fit last minute requests in depending on the complexity of the model. 

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How can Brides Up North get in touch with you or see more examples of your work?
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Examples of my work can be seen in the galleries on my website www.littlefolktoppers.co.uk
You an contact me via the online quotation form, contact us form and by email info@littlefolktoppers.co.uk or by telephone on 01626 866704 (an answer machine is in operation for when I am unable to get to the phone)
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Why do you read and like Brides Up North?
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Planning a wedding is mind boggling sometimes!  I know that well as I planned our original wedding in 1987 and our vow renewal ceremony in 2008 single-handedly.  There is so much to organise and so many companies offering their services.  Brides Up North is an invaluable resource of information, ideas and advice and I wish I had had such resources available to me when I planned our weddings.  Now that I no longer need the information, I love to visit just to read about other brides experiences, the blog and to generally keep up with today’s wedding trends.  In essence, I love all things wedding and Brides Up North is just that! 
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Anything else that Brides Up North should know?
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Little Folk are not just for traditional style toppers, I love it when my brides get creative with their ideas and I try to accommodate any request.  Basically, if it can be made in clay, I will do it!

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2011 Little Folk Toppers 

Little Folk Toppers is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier

Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier

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