Darlington girl goes from selling six toys on TikTok to taking 70 orders per day

In just 12 weeks Melissa Brunskill’s daughter, Alex has grown to have a following of almost 100,000 people on the social media network.

In that time, she has gone from taking just a handful of orders for ‘fidget toys’ on TikTok to having her very own website, where she has already sold thousands of items.

The schoolgirl said she had never expected it to "blow up" in the way that it has, as her mother recently agreed to transform part of their conservatory into a stockroom due to demand.

Ms Brunskill, of Harrowgate Hill, said her daughter was now seeing an average of 1,000 new followers per day on TikTok as she uploaded clips of the fidget toys.

Their conservatory has been transformed into a makeshift stock room Picture: CONTRIBUTOR

Explaining how it all began, Ms Brunskill told The Northern Echo: "Fidget toys are like this kid's craze at the moment and Alex had found these stress balls and said to me 'I think I can sell them' on TikTok, and I said go on kid.

"She made an account and they just sold within a couple hours – I went through it all with her and asked whether she wanted to give it a go.

"So when payment came through for the six balls, she used it to buy six more – and then it just boomed from there, she was getting thousands of new followers a day."

But as Alex, who actually wants to become a midwife in future, started receiving orders from across the UK, Ms Brunskill decided to set up a website in order to cope with the sheer level of demand.

She said: "We have been receiving deliveries of stock every single day - we've had to turn part of our home into a stockroom.

"It started off at 20 orders a day, and now we're getting between 50 and 70 a day.

"It started off just her, but of course she has gone back to school and it's a lot of effort for one little person."

Alex has been selling fidget toys to people across the UK Picture: CONTRIBUTOR

Admitting that as Alex returned to school it had become more of a joint-effort, Ms Brunskill said she never expected to be juggling her position at a baby scan clinic, with packing orders for fidget toys.

She said: "So she picks out the products she wants, and I just pack the orders during the day – I keep thinking, I didn't sign up for this – but I am extremely proud of what she has built and grown in such an uncertain time."

Thanking those who had supported her along the way, Alex said: “I am overwhelmed with all the love I’m getting with business – never in my dreams, did I think it would blow up.

"I would like to thank every single one of you who has ordered from me, followed me, liked my page and to everyone who is supportive of my journey."

Looking ahead, Alex said they are planning on opening up their deliveries to countries abroad including the USA, Australia and Republic of Ireland, where they are being inundated with requests.

To visit the website - visit funkyfidgetsshop.co.uk