Meeting Barefoot Books co-founder Tessa Strickland

It's safe to say 1993 was a memorable year for Tessa Strickland.

She left her husband, moved out of London and started her own business - Barefoot Books, now based in Oxford.

It was a lot to take on in one go but she took it all in her stride.

“I was very much in ‘I need to support my family’ mode,” says mum-of-three Tessa, 56.

“I was driven by determination and necessity.”

That drive paid off with the multi-national, award-winning children’s publishing house which has its headquarters in Summertown.

The aim is to “create children’s books that feed the imagination while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet”.

That sounds worthy... but it’s certainly far from dull.

As well as having offices there, the Barefoot Books HQ on Banbury Road showcases the company’s wares, has a cafe and storytelling area and hosts a wide variety of events for tots to teens and adults.

This week, events included ballet and tap classes, toddler Mandarin and French, singalongs in Spanish and a talk on how to help children when someone important dies or is dying. Next week will include crafts and music-making, post-natal and baby yoga and adult pilates.

“Stories are the way we make sense of the world in all of its confusion and beauty: they act as road maps for us, not only during infancy and later childhood but throughout our lives,” says editor-in-chief Tessa, who founded the company with Price Waterhouse-trained accountant Nancy Traversy, who is based in the US.

“For me, living Barefoot is about honouring the life of the soul. I see stories as soul food: the way we tell them, the way we share them and the way we reflect on them give us clues about what it means to be human.

“Stories are the way we make sense of the world in all of its confusion and beauty: they act as road maps for us, not only during infancy and later childhood but throughout our lives.”

Tessa’s own story started in rural Yorkshire, where she was second in a family of five children.

“I was lucky enough to have plenty of freedom to explore the local woods, streams and fields, by foot, by bike and on the broad back of my pony,” she says.

“At the same time, my parents instilled a keen sense of responsibility in me, a respect for the natural world and a curiosity about other people and places.

“My mother was a New Zealander with friends and relations in many parts of the world, so a stream of interesting guests passed through the house, bringing with them intriguing stories.”

That’s reflected in the books Barefoot publishes.

Part of the company’s mission statement reads: “We celebrate art and story that opens the hearts and minds of children from all walks of life, focusing on themes that encourage independence of spirit, enthusiasm for learning and respect for the world’s diversity.”

Always interested in language, after studying Classics at Cambridge University, Tessa taught English to schoolchildren in Japan.

On her return to London, she began a career in publishing, working first at Penguin Books and later at Random House, and became mum to three children - Francis, now 28 and a barrister, Rollo, 26, a musician and Zoe, 23, who is in fashion design.

Wanting to spend more time with her children was a big part of her reason for quitting the corporate world and setting up Barefoot.

Jack Dunwoody, head barista at Barefoot Books

“I naively thought that to start a small scale business I could work around my family. I had a starry-eyed notion I could meet them at the school gates,” she says.

That proved not to be the case but although she needed help with child care, working from home had advantages, even if she did find herself working after the children had gone to bed.

“It was really nice being in the house,” she says.

London life had lost its sparkle, so the family moved to Bath.

“I knew I wanted my children to have the kind of freedom I had enjoyed as a child,” says Tessa, who still lives in Somerset but spends her working week in Oxford and makes regular visits to the Barefoot office in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“I also wanted them to have space to write, paint, dream and imagine. And of course, I wanted this for myself as well. It was time to start living differently.”

Barefoot Books has grown from the two founders to 40 staff and the UK operation moved to Oxford three years ago “because it’s a real publishing city” and an easier one to recruit staff in.

Now Tessa, who works closely with all Barefoot’s authors and illustrators, writes poems and stories, teaches creative writing and is a psychotherapist and yoga teacher, is helping other parents to work at home.

As well as selling online, Barefoot Books has 1,200 “ambassadors” who sell the company’s products to their friends, families and communities and take a cut of the profits.

Tessa explains that people can sell online or at events and the only outlay is £80 for a box of Barefoot’s best-selling titles.

“It’s in miniature what we did as young mothers,” says Tessa.

“And at the worst you have £80 of lovely books for your children.”

barefootbooks.com

TESSA SAYS...

“I’m often asked how I came up with the company name Barefoot Books — it actually came to me out of the blue, and seemed to be the best way to express what I wanted to do: to create stories that remind us of our contact with the earth, and of our common humanity. 

“Different cultures have adapted to different environments and designed different types of footwear to do so, but when we take our shoes off, all of us are the same.
 
“I wanted to offer stories that, sometimes in very simple ways, express this: that honour the child from Tanzania as much as the child from Scotland, Portugal, Columbia.”

The logo is a print of Tessa’s daughter’s feet as a baby.

The wonderful world of words

Barefoot’s latest release is a picture book to introduce youngsters to the wonderful world of words.

Aimed at ages two to six, the 48-page book, illustrated by Sophie Fatus, follows a family through a busy day. It cleverly mixes in a variety of topics and the bright, packed spreads cover more than 700 words. Also of note is the effort that has been made to reflect our diverse culture.

“We saw this project as a unique opportunity to invite children inside a world that celebrates people from all walks of life,” said senior editor Kate DePalma.

“Every reader will find people and places that are familiar to their worlds alongside people and places that are new to them.

“That’s the kind of experience that has the potential to open a child’s heart and mind.”

It features people of all races, cultures, lifestyles and abilities but it’s done in a subtle, inclusive manner. It offers the opportunity to talk with your child about issues, like disability or cultural differences... or just to learn words and enjoy the pictures. Plus there’s an alligator (or possibly crocodile) to find on every spread. Brilliant! 

My Big Barefoot Book of Wonderful Words, £14.99

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