Six-year-old Sheffield schoolboy's handmade tree-inspired creatures sell out in hours
Is six-year-old Oliver Sheffield’s youngest entrepreneur?
A six-year-old Sheffield boy sold out a collection of handmade woodland creatures in just four hours after launching the project at Nether Edge Market.
Oliver Brennan, a Year 2 pupil at Westways Primary School in Crookes, created the "Tree Spirits" with his mum Kat after being inspired by Sheffield's status as one of Europe's greenest cities.
The Tree Spirits are inspired by Sheffield's identity as a Tree City of the World and take the form of miniature clay woodland characters decorated with features including mushrooms and flowers.
Mum Kat said the figures were created to act as good luck charms, and celebrate Sheffield's green spaces.
Kat said the family had only hoped to make a handful of sales and give Oliver a positive experience.
"We genuinely had no idea whether anyone would stop by," she said. "We invited his class at school and just wanted him to have a nice experience - we did not expect it to take off like it did."
The idea grew from a conversation about Sheffield's abundance of parks and green spaces.
"When Sheffield was voted the greenest city again, we had a conversation about how lucky we are to have the parks, Rivelin and all the green space we get to enjoy," Kat said.
"That idea sparked something in him."
The pair spent months making the figures at their kitchen table, overcoming several failed attempts before finding a clay mixture that worked.
Each Tree Spirit comes with a certificate of authenticity and is designed to encourage imagination and storytelling.
Despite the sell-out success, Kat said the most memorable part of the day was seeing her son confidently engage with customers.
"Kids can go shy, but he wasn't," she said.
"He was chatting to everyone, explaining the Tree Spirits, helping children choose their favourites and even taking payments on my phone.
"I'm beyond proud. To stand there and talk to all those people at six years old was so brave."
She added: "The highlight was watching him explain the Tree Spirits to other children and proudly hand out little pieces of moss because, in his words, Tree Spirits shouldn't leave the forest empty-handed."
One of Oliver's first customers was Max from Sheffield chocolatier Bullion Chocolate, who later invited him to visit the factory.
"Max told everyone to come down to his stall," Kat said.
"He shared stories about how he started out selling plants when he was younger. It was really inspirational for him."
The success has encouraged the family to take the project further, with plans to appear at future events including Leah's Yard.
Kat said: "It's funny because when I was around his age, I was selling mushrooms outside my house. Now it's come full circle watching him do the same thing.
"Mostly, we just want people to celebrate Sheffield's trees. So many people don't even know about the city's status, and that's such a shame."