'My favourite thing is seeing the children happy' - Meet Eastbourne's fairy tale princess
How a childhood of Disney Princesses and Disneyland inspired this Eastbourne woman to make a business out of it.
LD Party Characters is a character-for-hire business, owned by Lea Darleen, to ‘bring magic to your party’.
Lea, 20, is from Eastbourne but has grown up going to Disneyland, Paris, which gave her the inspiration for her business. She said: “I was just two-years-old when I went to Disneyland for the first time and I just loved the princesses. I kind of thought I want to be one, I love singing, I love makeup and dressing up, so that was the best idea.”
Lea offers a variety of characters including princesses and superheroes, but she has no affiliation with Disney. She started her businesses independently two years ago at just 18, she bought some costumes and promoted her business through Facebook and handing out flyers.
She added: “I had the thought so I just tried it out. I studied how the princesses do it in Disneyland and I basically tried it at home. That’s how I realised I really enjoyed it and so far the business has been quite popular.
“I think my favourite thing is seeing the children happy and excited. It’s so rewarding to see it in their eyes, how excited they are.”
Lea described that the winter season is especially good for her business because her Ice Queen character is ‘really popular’ and she is hoping to create a winter wonderland experience with an ‘Ice Queen’s Grotto’ so the children can meet ‘with their favourite character’.