The Little Glass Frog: single mother’s charming online store putting smiles on faces one gift at a time

Becca Dean is a single mother to her five-year-old son, she works full-time, and she also runs her own business. At 28, she fits more into each day than most of us do in a week.
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An online store which sells unique gifts for yourself or your loved ones across Lancashire, Becca’s business is named The Little Glass Frog. Becca founded the business after losing someone very close to her to Covid in 2020, dedicating herself to offering people the chance to put a smile on loved ones’ faces.

“I went through a period of extreme loneliness and I couldn’t reach out to anybody because of Covid, so I decided I wanted to help,” says Becca, from Burnley in East Lancashire. “I’d been buying little gifts for my friends because I wanted them to know I missed them, so I thought others would want to do the same.

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“When you’re isolated from people who can help you and who you can help, the desire to reach out and do something, anything, is crazy,” she adds, having founded The Little Glass Frog in late 2020. “Gift giving is like giving someone a hug when you couldn’t give them a hug. It was something people needed.”

Becca Dean owner of The Little Glass Frog with her sonBecca Dean owner of The Little Glass Frog with her son
Becca Dean owner of The Little Glass Frog with her son

Since lockdown restrictions have eased, the business has continued to grow, prompting Becca to aspire to greater things than just being a small Covid start-up. Quite the opposite: Becca’s on a mission to share the love one trinket, bath-bomb, or thoughtful accessory at a time.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster to begin with, but it’s a lot more steady now in terms of sales,” explains Becca. “I put way too much into starting the company and my son was spending lots of time with his dad and my parents, but I realised that was taking away from my happiness.

“As a result, I taught myself how to build the website and things like that to automate certain things and free up time for myself even though I was the only person running the company,” she adds, paying particular tribute to her son, who she says has been an immense help with picking out toys, offering cuddles, and being patient when things get hectic. “I’ve loved it.

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“Learning new things has woken me up again,” Becca continues. “Before this, I was waking up, taking my son to nursery, coming home, cooking tea, getting my son in the bath, putting him to bed, and doing the same thing again, so I felt like my brain was shutting down. It’s about passion and making sure things don’t get mundane.”

Becca Dean, owner of The Little Glass FrogBecca Dean, owner of The Little Glass Frog
Becca Dean, owner of The Little Glass Frog

With Becca encouraging people to take a look at the website and, should they not find quite what they’re looking for, to contact her so she can speak to suppliers and get things on request, I ask what the future of The Little Glass Frog looks like.

“I don’t want to be the next Jeff Bezos,” says Becca with a laugh. “In an ideal world, I’d want profits from the company to go into mental health and maybe have staff who are trained to help with things like loneliness.

“That’d be wonderful,” she adds. “I don’t want to help people just by offering material things.”

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