‘Can’t angels be black?’: How March Muses is bringing diversity to your Christmas tree

Tragic headline of the day: “Covid killed the elves.” So say Alison Burton and Natalie Duvall. Fortunately, they recovered from this setback – Alison and Natalie, that is – to create March Muses and decorate Christmas trees with ornaments of colour, a Black Santa and Afro Angels.

Alison and Natalie are both south Londoners with Jamaican heritage. They knew one another as kids, then went their different ways, but re-connected eleven years ago when they were both pregnant. After giving birth to daughters only two weeks apart, they went on meeting at Nando’s because it had a convenient spot for buggies. It was while having lunch and putting the world to rights that they started comparing notes on what they ought to do next. And wondering if they could do something together.

Alison had moved from HR into recruitment, predominantly for the pharmaceutical industry; Natalie had trained at the British School of Performing Arts and was giving drama workshops in schools. They put that all together and came up with “Career Challenge” workshops, initiating youngsters into the mysteries of money management and CVs, but injecting fun and games into it too. Then five years ago they came to the realisation that the one thing people were still missing from their lives was elves.

Thus was born “Home Elf Visit” – involving a whole host of elves (with names like “Jinx” and “Jingle”) who, in the lead-up to Christmas, would come to your home and give a personalised performance for you and your children. Elves were in demand and they were soon knocking on the door of celebs and footballers and generally spreading Christmas cheer. And then Covid hit and the elves were wiped out at a stroke. It was instant elf extinction.

But it was not exactly back to the drawing board for Alison and Natalie. They already had a back-up plan, also Christmas-related. In December of 2018, they were dressing the tree when one of their daughters asked the question, “Can’t angels be black?” Well, of course they can, they replied. But an online search for (wooden) angels of colour came up with precisely nothing. Alison found one in a shop which was a previously white angel that had been painted black – the Black and White Minstrels treatment.

The two friends resolved to rectify matters. They hooked up with suppliers and designers and a few months later came up with Black Santa – with appropriate hair and features. Their kids were blown away. As one of them said, “We’re asleep when Santa comes, so we don’t know what colour he is.” Alison and Natalie were nervous when it came to launching their very limited range in October 2019. Maybe no one would want these things? Maybe the world wasn’t ready? But they needn’t have worried – they sold out in a week and were rushing around to re-order. Soon they were being featured on the BBC and ITV and splashed across the pages of Grazia.

March Muses work on Christmas all year long – and only have January off. “Even in January we’re still brainstorming,” says Alison. “The cogs are still going round.” They’ve expanded their range to include figures inspired by Diana Ross and Angela Davis. They have lighter and darker skin tones. “We had to do that, one of my daughters has darker skin, and the other one lighter. And there are so many mixed race parents and different skin tones. We also have customers who just see the need for diversity.”

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Why are they called March Muses? “We didn’t want to call ourselves Black Christmas, and we’re both born in March.” And all their inspiration seems to come from muses also born in March – which include Diana Ross and Tessa Sanderson, the Olympic gold medal javelin-thrower. Who knew that Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin and Quincy Jones were all born in March too? Alison and Natalie, that’s who.

March Muses are happy to be seen as the party part of the Black Lives Matter movement. But as Natalie says, “We are a black business, but we are also a business. John Lewis don’t call themselves a white business!” Sad to say, March Muses got a certain amount of “pushback” online, as they nicely put it (ie racist abuse). Roughly on a par with black English footballers who miss penalties. “Some of the comments were shocking. How does anyone even think of that stuff?” Some people, they notice, get riled when – in connection with a baby bauble – they point out that black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth in the UK, even when it’s a well-researched fact.

But they’ve only been spurred on to do more. “We knew we must be doing something right,” says Alison. “The work we’re doing is going to help the black community.” Next year will see March Muses expanding into more diverse kit for Mother’s Day, christenings, weddings and baby showers. “We are celebrating diversity and diversifying celebrations.” They ship their product globally to the US, Australia, and the Caribbean.

Natalie says that “if you want to know how to speak to your children about race, start with the toys”. And, of course, Christmas tree ornaments. Both women love Christmas. “I’m still a kid at heart,” says Alison. But hitherto, our white Christmases have been a little too exclusively white. “We’re just trying to reflect the world we live in. To make sure there’s something for everyone.” That is the true spirit of Christmas.

@andymartinink