Darcie Davis had just given birth to her third son in 2016, when she was asked to take over the company she worked for. She had packed away her princess costumes and prepared for a maternity leave free of costuming and wigs, and that's when the phone rang.
“I just absolutely love what I do so much,” Davis said. “It was the best decision, and I feel like it kind of fell into my lap,”
At the time, Davis played the Little Mermaid and other classic fairy-tale-favourites for Regina’s Storybook Princess Parties, and the owner was looking to sell.
Davis has been operating Storybook Princess Parties for two years, and introduced the spin-off company, Comic Book Hero Parties, last spring. She runs the home based business in Regina Beach.
Davis brings classic fairy-tale princesses and comic book heroes, such as Batman and Spider-Man, to life by hiring performers to play the princesses and heroes, complete with elaborate costumes and wigs. The cast can most often be found dazzling kids and grown-ups alike at birthday parties, various charity fundraisers and monthly events like their annual Mother’s Day Brunch.
The cast of approx. 12 casual performers is part of the only business in the area that offers this service.
According to Davis, the decision to buy out the company seemed like an obvious one, since she was looking for something that would allow her to work from home and care for her three sons. But what wasn’t so obvious was what it would take to run a business from home.
Each booking comes with a significant amount of paper work, and she said making sure that everything is in order for the events is just the tip of the ice-burg.
In addition to handling the administrative work, Davis designs and delivers everything needed for each event, down to books, decorations, gifts and craft supplies.
“When they do the crafts I want them to be actual keepsakes that they can take home, not just a picture or drawing,” Davis said.
Davis restyles all costumes and wigs out of her home, thanks to her background in cosmetology. She updates their social media pages and website as often as possible, and says that she’s gained some skills in marketing and social media management since taking on the business.
“Most of the girls take home their costumes but I still have a princess room just dedicated to all the stuff,” Davis said. “I have 15 costumes in there, piles of crowns and piles of comic books and piles of everything that we require for events,”
Today the business is busy with bookings and offers over fifteen characters, but the success of the company didn’t occur overnight. Davis said when she took on the company, she had to hire a mostly new cast, including roles that had never been offered to clients in the past.
Hannah MacMurchy puts her years of theatre experience to use as Sleeping Beauty for Storybook Princess Parties. She says this has been the perfect job to coordinate with her busy school schedule.
“It’s just a little time out of your day on the weekend, and it’s so worth it,” MacMurchy said. “Darcie is amazing for accommodating our schedules too,”
When MacMurchy isn’t dazzling audiences at birthday parties and charity events, she can be found studying for her degree in fine arts education at the U of R.
You can book your next event with Storybook Princess Parties at https://www.storybookprincesses.com/.
