The Unexpected Journey from Freelance Design to Poodles & Friends

The Quiet Classroom Moment That Inspired Poodles & Friends

Before creating Poodles & Friends, I spent many years working in the freelance design industry. Education was not the direction I expected my life to take. More than 20 years ago, I had taught art, but that part of my life felt far behind me.

A few years ago, an education agency invited me to support schools part time. I was surprised, because my focus at that stage of life was freelance design work. Returning to classrooms was not something I expected. But I answered — ok, why not.

Slowly, I accepted temporary roles across nurseries, mainstream classrooms, SEND settings and one-to-one support. I stepped into those environments simply expecting to help where needed. What I did not expect was that the children themselves would quietly change how I understood learning, patience and progress.

It opened my eyes to how much diversity exists in children — in the way they learn, communicate, regulate emotions, remember information and experience the world around them.

I slowly realised that progress does not always look the same for every child.

I remember one particular child. Every day, we revisited the same simple numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The following day, we often started again. At first, I believed progress should always be obvious and that learning meant moving forwards quickly. However, this child taught me something very different.

I began to realise that learning is not always measured by how quickly a child remembers. Sometimes progress is much smaller and quieter than adults expect. Progress may be trying again after frustration, feeling calm enough to join in, smiling after getting one answer right, or listening for a little longer than the day before.

Working alongside children who learn and experience the world in different ways gradually changed my understanding of education. I started noticing how repetition, gentle encouragement and patient support often mattered more than pressure. It made me wonder whether some children simply need calmer songs, gentler repetition, less overstimulation or more reassurance.

Perhaps my background also made me notice things differently. Coming from freelance design work, I had spent years thinking about visuals, attention, simplicity and how people absorb information. As a mother, I understood that children do not always have the words to explain frustration, tiredness or feeling overwhelmed.

Working in classrooms made those worlds unexpectedly meet. I started noticing how some children responded to repetition, familiar routines, quieter environments and gentle reassurance far more than pressure or speed.

Those thoughts stayed with me long after leaving the classroom. Even at night after work, I kept thinking about what kind of design could help children — especially those in SEND settings.

Slowly, those thoughts became part of the beginning of Poodles & Friends — calm learning songs, gentle resources and Poodle Talk. Not because I believed I had all the answers, but because one child reminded me that progress does not always look the way adults expect.

As a designer, I also realised something unexpected — adults repeat, forget and start again too. Perhaps that child quietly reminded me that patience matters for ourselves as much as it does for children.

Sometimes, counting to five is already a very big achievement.

Perhaps we should celebrate that more.

To protect privacy, details in this story have been generalised and identifying information changed.

— L C
Creator of Poodles & Friends