In 2017 I moved to Margate, needing a career change and some calm after 15 years as an actress in London. Frustratingly I got bit by anxiety and I found my job, as an actress, increasingly hard to navigate due to my nerves. It was a precarious time when I had literally zero idea what the heck to be doing with myself, I never imagined not being able to get on a stage and make people laugh. In-between acting jobs I was fortunate enough to meet some of the most fun humans on this planet - dear friends and I used to create big scale games to take to music festivals. A bunch of silly wallies in a muddy field making ridiculous games for people to play, to incite the silly as the Fun-silly-taters of Lost & Found collective. This time was incredibly formative for me, I realised what I love most is to create communities where people feel able to let go and just play! This then became a running theme of my life - chasing the opportunities to ‘play’ and normalising that for adults. All I knew is I needed to find another avenue of creating a joyful and exciting space even tho I felt incapable whilst riddled with anxiety.

Having fallen head over heels in love with this seaside town, and specifically the community and its vibrant sense of fun, I couldn’t fail to be inspired by the colour and energy of this slightly dishevelled gem by the sea. With each walk on the beach with Dude, my nerves settled and my love for Margate grew. I wanted to encapsulate that joy that Margate and my friends had instilled in me and turn it in to an explosion of happy things, curated in an immersive space, which once exited, left you feeling a little lighter and brighter than before you went in.

I was fortunate to meet a fellow colour lover who helped me develop a bonkers fun house of sorts, Big Bit. Its intention was for people to take the immersive experience one step further and stay over in the colourful playground, for maximum joy saturation! Again… there is nothing demure about this little space! We went full out colour joy in here. Building tirelessly we created a magical space, even hand painting this mural you can see on the pic behind this text. Believe it or not, Big Bit is actually a very trimmed back version of some of our earlier ideas! Including a whole forest or a the entire bedrooms as ball pits! IMAGINE THE BRAINSTORMS! They were the best!

Now that the shop, Little Bit, is closed, I am excited (and feel ready to…) look forward to the next phase. Before, my life felt like I had random chapters of different books being written, but with what I am about to do with The Happy Map, I suddenly feel that all those random joyful jobs are going to amalgamate into one whopping fun fest! Literally!

Forming the Joy Scouts and starting a Happiness Revolution makes me so excited! In a world that feels so dark at times, et us learn how to shine our torches of hope for others..

I cannot wait to get started!

Keep up to date with progress over on instagram @thehappymap

Much love and squishes,

Pol & Dudey