It's a piece of cake

This was the dilemma facing freelance travel, interiors and design writer Bridget Stott.

With two young children under the age of five, she was already contemplating a change of direction, but it was hearing an item on the radio this summer that really got her moving.

"It was a piece about how traditional journalism is dead, and how life for the freelancer would get ever more difficult," recalled Mrs Stott from her Chipping Norton home.

"It is getting really difficult for freelancers now, and I suddenly thought oh dear, it might be time to do something different'."

Although Mrs Stott still writes for, among others, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times, she has just launched her own party planning business, aptly named A Piece of Cake.

She said: "I thought, how can I use all the skills that I have learned, and the contacts I have acquired down through the years?' "

In the past, Mrs Stott had organised a party or two for friends which had gone down extremely well. So party planning seemed like a natural progression, as with two young children, travelling abroad was becoming less feasible.

Now, whether your party is a ball, or in a barn, Mrs Stott wants to help you create something organic, and eco-sustainable but still beautiful.

And perhaps this is her unique selling point - she wants to be the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of the party-planning world. An ambitious goal, you might say, but with her background, not an impossible one.

"I want to go back to basics but still make it glamourous and different," she explained.

"I did quite a bit of market research and noticed a lot of party planners offered the same old packages.

"I don't want to force anything on people. I want to find out what they want and take it from there and make it into the party they would have created, if they'd had the time," she said.

Specialising in well-packaged themed, unthemed or seasonal events, she wants to make sure you get what you asked for.

Or, if you are not sure, Mrs Stott has an inspirational database of locations and ideas.

She explained: "If you fancy a night in a chic hotel, dinner in a great restaurant and a night on the town, followed by a day of haircuts, make-up advice, spa and beauty treatments, shopping sprees and afternoon tea - from London to Shanghai, I can arrange it all.

Mrs Stott added: "I give people a questionnaire to find out what kind of things they like. This makes it a personal experience."

The most difficult thing, she explained, had been trying to juggle the launch of the new business with the needs of two young children and her writing, which is her bread-and-butter.

"I am still writing, so trying to do this as well as everything else . . . it has been a slow burner.

"But that is good in a way, as it has given me time to think about it, and plan what I need to do."

Mrs Stott is in the enviable position of having the knowledge and contacts in the media to help her out.

"I have a bulging contacts book that I can put to good use, and a wealth of knowledge from years of writing about travel and design. Another aspect to the business will be organising short breaks for couples, or larger groups."

Although she lives in Chipping Norton, Mrs Stott is happy to travel anywhere to put together the perfect party.

"And I want to keep feeding people through my website as well," she added.

"I want to give tips on how to throw a party, and offer links to other websites."

While this sounds just a little counter-productive in theory, this type of information is so widely available that having it on her own website should not lose her potential business.

Engaging, enthusiastic and bubbly, Mrs Stott certainly talks a good party, and will easily convince you she can do the job. And that is perhaps half the battle in this line of work.

n Contact: 01608 646905, www.pieceofcakeuk.com