Founder David made his first sale in 1997. In 1998 daughter-in-law Bridget set up the Madelena hub in Georgia, USA. Son Ben joined in 1999 to build the website. Ben now runs the operation from an office in Essex UK. He does all the buying and I.T. development, with David doing shows and helping out generally. Christine and Bethany work in the office full time, assisted by Jen, Julie, and Kerry, all now mothers of young children and working part time.