Business Connects – Jade Fletcher Interviews March Muses Co-Founders Alison Burton & Natalie Duvall

When her daughter asked if  Christmas angels could have brown skin, Natalie’s response was “Of course they can. Why are you asking me that?” That was the moment Natalie Duvall realised something was missing from her family’s Christmas tree—and the wider festive market. This sparked a conversation that led to the founding of March Muses, a trailblazing brand committed to inclusivity in holiday décor. @jadegreenproductions @marchmuses @deborahmeaden #dragonsden

In this inspiring interview, Business Connects‘ Jade Fletcher sits down with co-founders Alison Burton and Natalie Duvall to uncover the powerful personal story behind their business, the challenges of creating culturally authentic products, and how their appearance on BBC’s Dragons’ Den helped propel March Muses into the spotlight. From their first prototypes to partnerships with major retailers like Tesco, the duo shares how passion, perseverance, and purpose helped them reshape the face of festive representation in the UK.

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Jade: How did your personal experience influence the creation of inclusive Christmas decorations?

Alison Burton: Oh wow, what made us start? I mean, Natalie and I—we are both creative people, so we’ve got a passion for storytelling, and everything that we do always encompasses representation. However, with regards to the Christmas decorations, back in 2018, Natalie and her daughter were dressing their Christmas tree, and her daughter, who was seven at the time, asked the question, “Could angels have brown skin?”

Now, this question obviously took Natalie aback because she’s thinking, “Of course they can. Why are you asking me that?” But then she realised—they’re hanging up white angels, white Santas, there’s a white Elf on the Shelf. So this is probably what sparked her daughter’s question.

Natalie and I have been business partners for well over 10 years. She told me about this question that Sophia raised, and we were like, “Okay, don’t worry, we’ll go out and find some.” “Natalie did a search online in the UK and found nothing but did manage to find angels of colour in the US. However, the shipping was quite expensive were, for a small decoration”

I found one black decoration in a little gift shop in our area in Croydon. When I asked the shop owner where she got it from, she said it was a white angel that she had painted black. She had had her shop for around 25 years and had never seen a black angel, which is why she painted a white one black.

We felt, “Well, that’s not right. We can’t have an angel doing blackface.” So we identified a huge gap in the market—which we didn’t think we would uncover. When we realised, we stepped into 2019 with the purpose to create inclusive Christmas decorations.

Jade: Amazing—so there’s a real personal connection and a real story behind it. That’s lovely. Can you share the significance behind the name “March Muses” and how it reflects your company’s ethos?

Alison Burton: Absolutely. When we decided to launch the brand, we were going back and forth on names. We didn’t want a name like “Noir Christmas” or “Black Christmas Decorations,” because we didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves just to Christmas. Also, we wanted to give ourselves the autonomy to do whatever we wanted with the brand, which at the time, we didn’t know what it would become. So, we named it March Muses.

“March” because Nats and I are both born in March—her birthday was last weekend, mine is this weekend—and “Muses,” which means to be inspired. We were initially inspired by our children to create this range, but not only that—many of our angels and figurines, both male and female, are named after Black icons who are also born in March.

For example, we have a figurine named Diana, after Diana Ross, who’s born in March; we have a Mariah tree topper—Mariah Carey is born in March; we have an Aretha figurine—Aretha Franklin, also born in March. So, we have a number of our figurines that reflect our vision of what it means to be a March Muse.

Jade: There are a lot more questions I could ask off the back of that, but what challenges did you face in the initial stages of designing and producing decorations that authentically represented diverse cultures?

Alison Burton: Okay, I think the initial challenges we encountered—well, I have to be honest and completely transparent—neither Nats nor I are designers. We’re not artists or anything like that. But we did look at existing figurines.

We knew what would bring authenticity and diversity to Christmas, so we reviewed what already existed in the market and how we could adapt them—make them more diverse and creative. And that definitely isn’t painting a white one black.

We paid close attention to hair, body type, facial features, skin tones. We have figurines that come in light and dark complexions. We looked at how we could diversify and provide representative decorations within the UK that simply weren’t available before.

With the design process, manufacturers had never been asked for a Black angel or Santa before. So, what we received in terms of pictures and samples was just the colour black—as in black like a TV screen in terms of complexion. So we had to use different language to educate them on what we meant—”African American,” “urban”—so they understood we were referring to people of colour, not the colour black. That was an interesting journey, but we got the samples, got them to exactly what we wanted, and then the rest is history.

Jade: How long did it take to kind of get to that point?

Alison Burton: Yes, we all celebrate Christmas in December and start panic-buying presents in November or early December—but the process of preparing for Christmas starts in January. As I said, once we discovered the problem in 2018, we entered 2019 with the purpose of creating this brand. We started the process in January, and by summer, we were happy with the samples and able to place our orders.

Jade: Okay, so talking about that—how did your appearance on BBC’s Dragons’ Den and securing investment from Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones impact the growth, visibility, and impact of March Muses?

Natalie Duvall: I think being on a show like that—you get to talk about your business for longer than anyone could imagine. It’s better than any advertisement. When you watch TV, ads are three or two minutes long. To be talking about our business for 15 minutes—which is what viewers saw, even though we were in the room for two hours—was incredible.

The edit is just 15 minutes, and they obviously cut the best bits together to make a show out of it. It was nerve-wracking being in it. I feel like we were their diversity story as well. It was a good story for the BBC to have, because I think that year, they only had maybe one or two other Black-owned businesses—and we were the only one that received investment. That’s amazing for us, but also sad for the culture. More needs to be done.

Being on that show adds credibility to your company. Conversations that were a bit slow beforehand sped up afterwards. Even now, three or four years on, having that Dragons’ Den title attached to our name means so much. It really adds to our story and credibility as founders—and as Black women.

We always talk about how Black women receive just 0.02% of VC funding—or any type of funding really. We’re not even on the list. So being seen on Dragons’ Den and being able to use that platform to open doors really helped change the business.

We were able to grow and get a fulfilment centre. Before that, we were doing everything from our kitchens—packing and sending everything from our homes in Croydon. After Dragons’ Den, we were able to invest in proper marketing companies—Google Ads, Instagram Ads—things we didn’t really understand before. We also invested in PR, which we needed because of all the requests coming in after the show.

We were able to grow, but with growth comes more problems—you have to maintain it. It’s great, but also tricky.

Jade: And I guess you feel you have a responsibility now as well?

Natalie Duvall: Yes, I think we’ve kind of put ourselves in a position where we are the leaders in Christmas decorations of colour. At the moment, there aren’t other companies—especially Black-owned ones—that offer a range like we do.

Brands started paying attention post-2020, and I think around 2022–2023, more started saying, “Oh, maybe we should have a Black Santa.” But like Alison said, they’re often just white ones painted black. There’s no authenticity behind it.

This is where our partnership with Tesco really comes into play. They could have easily said, “We’ll just create some wrapping paper or decorations and put Black characters on it.” But instead, they said, “Let’s take an authentic approach.”

So yes, they’re adding diversity into their mix—but also supporting a growing business to address the disparity faced by Black-owned brands in mainstream retail spaces like Tesco.That’s really amazing.

Part Two of this Business Connects interview will be in the print edition of ALT A REVIEW: Subscribe and get it delivered quarterly to your door. Take up our special 2025 offer HERE: Get Four editions for just £12.

About Jade Fletcher in Her Own Words
£In today’s competitive landscape, SMEs are constantly navigating an uphill battle. I’m here to spotlight the business owners who are not just surviving—but thriving. With over 25 years of industry experience, I bring a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed.

I am a dynamic Events and Education Specialist with over two decades of experience leading high-profile projects across the corporate, fashion, music, and sports industries. As the founder of Jade Green Productions, I’ve had the privilege of working with world-renowned clients, including BT at the London Olympics, the MOBO Awards, and the Commonwealth Fashion Council’s launch at Buckingham Palace”.

Jade runs Meet the Mentor: Lessons of an Entrepreneur

Jade Green Productions
W: www.jadegreenproductions.com
Twitter/Instagram: @jadegreenproductions