Giving birth to a thriving business

The two women behind Ireland's first pregnancy and baby fair talk to Tanya Sweeney about bringing their idea to fruition.

DEPENDING on whom you ask, only the wily or foolhardy would start up a business in the current economic climate. Add a first pregnancy into the mix, and it seems like a recipe for disaster. Yet Dubliner Jennifer Shaw, 26, and her business partner Claire Finnan, 31, reckon there’s a method to their madness.

After spotting a niche in the market, the pair set up Huggy Bloom Enterprises and founded Ireland’s first Pregnancy and Baby Fair. And according to Shaw, who is due to give birth the weekend of this year’s fair at the RDS (April 9-10), the timing couldn’t be more perfect.