When I was a child growing up in Manchester, my mother had a gift for turning scraps of fabric into the most magical costumes. Every Halloween, she would stay up late at our kitchen table with a sewing machine humming softly, piecing together witches’ hats, pirate vests, or fairy wings — always by hand, always unique.

Back then, our costumes didn’t come from big stores. They were born from creativity, leftover cloth, and a mother’s love. I didn’t know it then, but those nights planted the seeds for a family legacy that would shape my life and countless others.

Years later, after I finished school and took my first job in retail, I realized there was still a hunger for that homemade magic — but also a need for practicality and scale. Parents wanted affordable costumes for World Book Day, festivals, and parties, but didn’t always have the time to sew late into the night, like Mum did.

So I took a leap of faith. With my mother’s spirit as my guide, I started sourcing fancy dress costumes in bulk from local textile makers — small workshops run by families just like ours. Slowly, my side project grew into Wholesale Connections, a UK wholesale marketplace dedicated to connecting retailers with trustworthy costume suppliers and supporting local talent.

Today, every time a small shop owner in a seaside town stocks our kids’ pirate outfits or when a parent orders a last-minute wizard cloak from a retailer who trusts our suppliers — I feel my mother’s legacy living on. Our business may have modern warehouses and supply chain software now, but at its heart, it’s still built on kitchen table dreams and fabric scraps turned into magic.

When I see a child’s smile in costume, I remember: sometimes, the best legacies are stitched together quietly in the background, one thread at a time.

[Legacy shared by Wholesale Connections — a UK-based wholesale marketplace honouring local suppliers and timeless family stories.]