My name is Dave Blacker; I’m the creator and managing director of Olivbells Creations Ltd.

I’ve worked in the world of television and film as a prop maker and set builder for over 30 years. The majority of that time was spent working on many well-known children’s programs such as How 2, Motormouth, Finders Keepers, Art Attack, The Basil Brush Show, Ministry of Mayhem, Sooty and Friends, Fingertips, Eureka, Mr Maker, Bear Behaving Badly, Topsy and Tim, Teletubbies, Waffle the Wonder Dog and many more.

I’ve built thousands of weird and wonderful things that have been seen on television screens all around the globe, working alongside Emmy and Bafta-winning designers to bring their drawings and ideas to life.

Setting up this company was never my intention, however …

I have two inspiring daughters.

When they were young I wanted to create a playspace for them, a small corner of the room where the natural creativity that all children possess could be encouraged and would be able to flourish. I knew that with the right tools I could help them, having watched their imaginations run wild as they played at dressing up.

So, I went to my workshop and created two little worlds for them to play in. One for each bedroom so they wouldn’t fight but could visit each other’s and play in their worlds too.

That was the start of something. That was when all of a sudden my imagination started rolling as well.

In front of me I could see my daughters and their friends spending hours playing and creating. It became so popular to their friends I thought maybe there’s a way to take this wonderful experience and bring it to others.

I needed a name. Straight away I wanted to make it personal and to honour my daughters, so the name Olivbells was born, after my girls Olivia and Isabella. After all, without them, I would never have started down this road.

I look at children today and though they are growing up surrounded by all sorts of amazing technology and opportunities, they seem to be losing the art of inventive and interactive play, the ability to create outside the clearly defined parameters that apps and media platforms allow.

Give a child the opportunity to play and they will invent a tiny world in front of your eyes. Then, trust me, you’ll be playing in it as well, right alongside them.

Visit our creations page to see more and, to find out  about how we work, click here.