Front of Haus

The Haus is quiet today.

Normally, this sunlit office, hidden away behind the railway line in Gosforth, is a hive of activity and noise; dogs, cats, kids – it’s an inclusive affair.

Today is an optional work from home Friday.

So the emporium of high-quality children’s toys, clothes and accessories – which please the eye, adorn the offices and beg to be touched, felt and played with – is silent.

Beside the office where we chat sit an enormous pig and cow, both the size of a hippo, but dormant and docile, and infinitely more cuddly and playful.

Then there are high-end lampshades, bowls and cups among shelves on the first floor.

And there are rules. But not many.

Haus founder Lizzie Carroll likes it that way.

“It’s a dream come true – I love it here,” she says.

Lizzie adds: “The brands that work with us – and their products – are amazing, and we’ve got a brilliant team too.

“It’s a fun place to be; we’re all interested in each other’s lives, we support each other with things like flexible arrangements, and there’s always someone’s animal in here too.

“We had Orla the Golden Retriever puppy in yesterday, only five-months-old, and sometimes you’d see Biscuits, my big fat ginger cat, mooching around somewhere or sleeping on the sofa.”

Biscuits missed the photoshoot.

Lizzie says: “I come from a corporate background, and when you’re in a big organisation, and working with lots of different clients, there is a lot of structure and a nervousness to impress.

“It wasn’t an environment where I felt comfortable being myself.

“I always felt I was a little bit different, that I was hiding my personality and conforming to a standard.

“I didn’t want that here.

“That comes with growing up, self-acceptance after going on my own personal journey and being proud to be who I am and encouraging people to be the same.

“I wanted to make sure the company had values of kindness, fun, inclusivity and creativity; I wanted it to feel like a lovely place to work, where everyone can be themselves.

“Nici and I are relaxed and open; there are no airs and graces, we have fun and can be professional at the same time.

“We have a great relationship with our suppliers and love it when they visit us; we are relaxed, honest and open with them about what is going well and what isn’t.

“That level of trust helps us be successful and work together.”

Lizzie launched Haus in 2019 at the start of the pandemic, quickly establishing the company as an exclusive UK distributor for Scandi interiors and children’s brands.

She quickly signed up OYOY Living Design, Little Dutch and Wildride.

In the last 18 months, the number of retailers has risen to more than 500, and includes Fenwick and John Lewis.

This year, revenue hit £6 million.

With expansion comes recruitment, and the appointment of the aforementioned Nici Civico as chief operating officer in July 2020 has, says Lizzie, elevated the business.

She has been the main driver behind the company’s move to its own warehouses and has played a huge part too in defining its culture and ethics.

Lizzie says: “This is a nice little office, my kids go to school nearby, I live in Gosforth and I love having the business here.”

Educated at Gosforth Central, Middle and High Schools, Lizzie left the region for Sheffield Hallam University.

The real journey to Haus began after she returned to the North East and joined Accenture in Newcastle.

She says: “I came out of university and got a good job and I enjoyed it there,” she says of her time in the corporate world.

Lizzie adds: “I felt grateful because it was a good salary, and I worked my way up from doing data entry to senior manager, overseeing the delivery of huge IT implementation projects until I went on maternity leave.”

Lizzie had Sonny in 2015, took a year off, and started to form the idea of setting up a company specialising in Scandinavian-inspired toys with a previous work colleague.

When she gave birth to Bella in 2018, Lizzie took additional maternity time to spend with her two children.

This allowed her to solidify her entrepreneurial ideas with a friend.

She says: “We would spend hours on the phone daily, supporting each other in the highs and lows of motherhood and brainstorming at the same time.

“We landed on taking some money and shares we had from Accenture, buying loads of stock and selling it to retailers.

“It was a very overnight decision.

“We started off with some American brands, and it was always the agreement that I would run it.

“We were under the delusion that it would be three days a week, and it would look after itself.

“We got the European rights at that point and I rang every retailer in the UK, sent out millions of emails, got the stock out and then we went to Denmark and signed with OYOY – a brand I’d always loved – and they used us as their distributor.

“I spent about a week, working day and night to build a Shopify story to sell to wholesale, and it just took off.

“We went into lockdown in March, and I’d just signed up to do Little Dutch; it went crazy.

“The demand was wild, and I employed someone to come and help me, and we moved into an office in Hoult’s Yard, in Newcastle.

“Then, I was out for drinks in Wylam Brewery, when they’d just eased some of the COVID-19 restrictions, and I bumped into Nici, who was looking for a change.

“I said, ‘come and help me’.

“She’s got such a good logistical and practical background – from running pubs, etc – and she came in straightaway.

“Before we knew it, we were in Baker’s Yard.

“It started as one warehouse and we’ve slowly taken over five units and kept adding to the team.

It is now five years since Lizzie sat in her spare room at the height of lockdown surrounded by boxes.

The warehouse and office at Baker’s Yard are almost full to the brim, although Christmas orders will take huge swathes of it before the end of the year.

It is a happy Haus.

And although quiet on the surface today, it is just at the start of a thrilling adventure, with Lizzie keen to bring all her team along for the journey.

And, of course, she’ll do it her way.

She adds: “We’ve slowed it down a bit and taken less risk with stock.

“It took a while to get that under control but we’re now back on top of it, and are going into a good Christmas.

“We’re still a young business with a small team doing great things.

“Going into 2025, we’re looking at taking on some new brands.

“We’re excited to bring more beautiful products into the UK and introduce brands to our flourishing team and expansive retailer network.

“We can always tell when we want to work with someone – it’s about mutual values and having a connection.

“We are an extension of the brands we work with; it’s important we understand one another to get the best successes.”

Lizzie says: “We’ve just had our fifth anniversary, we’re coming into a busy Christmas period and we’ll all be pulling together.

“I still get excited about new products, new brands and working with the team.

“I feel lucky every day.”