Who We Are

Agata is a furniture artist with a passion for rescuing unloved, old brown furniture destined for the skip. She breathes new life into each piece with bold colours, whimsical designs, and a touch of magic.

Creating under the name Fis Furniture Art , Agata specialises in unique, vibrant, one of a kind pieces. If you’re drawn to colourful, eclectic styles, you’ll fall in love with her work.

Gayanne commissioned several enchanting pieces, many of which you’ll now find in our Fairy Hollow.

Her work became such a big part of The Bubbling Toad that Gayanne invited her to join the team officially as Assistant Manager and together, they have transformed the space in each room to make something truly magical!

Our steadfast House Elf.

Our right – hand man. Our Electrical Maestro. The unsung hero of The Bubbling Toad.

He doesn’t wear robes or carry a wand, just a toolbox and a bottomless pocket of wall fixings.

As Gayanne’s other half, he’s had 22 years to hone his poker face at her mad requests, and has patience that borders on supernatural.

He now simply asks 3 things – Is it heavy? How high do you want it? Does it need power?

A fixer. A do-er. A ladder climbing legend.

Every electrical detail, every flying book, every impossible to reach cornice, he’s there. Calm, capable, and traversing a ladder that defies gravity.

Every Bubbling Toad needs an Alan. Lucky for us, we’ve got one.

Sara spent the first half of her career at the BBC, briefly as a radio studio manager, creating sound effects for Fungus the Bogyeman, but that’s another story! She quickly moved to the other side of the mic to become an announcer and newsreader across TV and Radio. She’s been voicing for clients all over the world from her own studio since 2006. Everything from commercials to corporates, medical to kids’ animations. Google, PepsiCo, M&S, Pfizer and Sky Kids. Basically, the studio’s her second home. Known to many as a bird of many nicknames (and at least one wand), one word follows her everywhere: magical. People had been pestering her to write for years, and then, one day, the words The Bubbling Toad slipped from Gayanne’s lips and landed like fairy dust beneath Sara’s wings. The stories came fluttering in like moths to moonlight, and she hasn’t stopped writing since.

Now, her tales are tumbling into the world, one dewdrop at a time, in books, in dreams, and in voices that whisper, “Everything’s going to be alright.”

The Bubbling Toad books are coming soon – get ready to step into the story…

Leon’s spent a lifetime working with sound at the BBC, recording everyone from Dame Judi to Alan Rickman. Not to mention live music sessions with bands like The Stranglers, Katrina and the Waves, Gary Neuman and more. He’s as comfortable in a studio as he is on location with Gardeners’ Question Time, at a sport event or in a concert hall. But he loves nothing better than mixing, whether it’s dubbing for TV or creating beautiful soundscapes for the Bubbling Toad stories and the magical rooms of the Bubbling Toad itself! He can turn his hand to pretty much anything – restoring an old radio, or even making a cupboard open on its own! He’s basically ‘sound all round’. Oh, and he’s the man of the nest – yep, he’s married to voice over and chief story writer, Sara Starling.

Fresh out of uni and armed with a head full of bright ideas (and probably a spreadsheet or two), Molly is the modern magic behind the curtain. From pixel-perfect Instagram posts to email spells that land right in your inbox, she’s here to make sure the world hears about The Bubbling Toad – and wants to come running.

Representing her company, Brimstone Marketing, Molly works closely with the team to keep everything ticking behind the scenes. Posters, polls, social media strategy – she’s just a phone call (or a slightly frantic WhatsApp) away with a calm head and creative solution.

She brings a much-needed Gen Z sparkle to the Toad’s cauldron – sharp, savvy and always two steps ahead. She’s here to keep the wheels turning, the emails flowing, and the chaos charming.

Every magical team needs a bit of marketing mischief. Lucky for us, we’ve got Molly.

Lyn is a fascinating and well travelled soul. She served in the Armed Forces, was a First Responder with the Scottish Ambulance Service, not to mention a trained chef and incredible baker.

When she’s not conjuring up enchanted treats or spell casting in class, she swaps her wand for a mic and fronts Stretchercase – the rock and blues covers band.

But her talents don’t stop the there…Songwriter, Actor, Company Director of a local drama group, creative crafts maker, fantasy novel reader, and general daydreamer is how we know her best.

The Bubbling Toad is the perfect place for Lyn’s imagination to take flight and we’re so excited she decided to land here!

Originally from Bonnyrigg, Gem has been dancing, singing, and performing on stage since she was just five years old. After three years in the junior programme at the Glasgow Academy of Musical Theatre Arts, she went on to complete professional training and graduate from their full-time course in Musical Theatre.

Her talents then took her across the world to Universal Studios Beijing, where she spent 16 magical months performing under a professional singing contract. Now home again, Gem brings her creativity, warmth, and fairy sparkle to The Bubbling Toad.

As Keeper of the Hollow, she guides little ones through immersive storytelling and play, always with a kind heart and a touch of gentle wonder. A passionate lover of crystals and tarot cards, Gem’s intuitive magic is already weaving its way into The Hollow, and there’s much more of that to come…

Sage of stories and Keeper of the Winter Star

For half a century, James (the little boy on the right of the picture to clarify) has conjured wonder across the realms of stage, sound, and story. A masterful actor, composer, and writer for BBC Children’s Radio, Jim has wandered the theatrical world, from Scotland’s grandest stages to a tour of China where he played the Fool in a magical Shakespearean adventure.

His compositions have woven through the air of theatres, danced through orchestras, and charmed chamber ensembles. He lent his musical magic to the Scottish musical Whisky Kisses, which toured far and wide before settling in Pitlochry for a full season.

Jim’s magic doesn’t end there. He lends his voice to the Scottish Chamber Choir and the curious soundscapes of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, where music is conjured on the spot, guided only by intuition and imagination.

At The Bubbling Toad, Jim brings with him decades of spellbinding experience and a heart full of stories, sounds, and the kind of quiet mischief that makes magic come alive.

Riddle Crafter and Timekeeper of Secrets

Drew Scott has been performing, creating, and conjuring since the age of four—his stage debut being a heartfelt rendition of “I’m Nobody’s Child” at a local talent show. A lifelong maker and dreamer, Drew spent his childhood dismantling and rebuilding anything he could get his hands on (though sometimes with a few mystery pieces left over).

His love of stories and spectacle took shape in school drama productions and a summer at the Scottish Youth Theatre, eventually leading him to train as an actor and work as a theatre stage manager—also known as “the dark side.” From there, Drew’s journey has taken many curious turns: card shop manager, youth theatre director, aerobics instructor, scriptwriter, yurt builder, and proud father (to name a few).

The seeds of his escape room magic were planted by his family and sprouted through years of creating imaginative adventures for children’s parties, combining themed props, puzzles, and storytelling. In 2017, he officially launched Outside the Box Entertainments and built his first portable escape room for Dragonfly Yurts—since then, his treasure trove of original rooms has grown ever more puzzling.

Now, as The Bubbling Toad’s resident Puzzling Wizard, Drew brings with him a toolbox of riddles, locks, clues, and curiosity. He’s helping us craft something entirely new—where stories are solved, not just told—and we couldn’t be more excited to have his wonderfully enchanted mind on the team.