Once Upon A Party…

In the beginning

From a kitchen table start up to an international party and lifestyle brand that sets the trend, welcome to the story of Usbll.

Usbll designs everything fun for life’s celebrations – partyware, seasonal decorations, heirloom-quality children’s gift and dreamy dress-up. Our products are inspired by the imagination of childhood and rooted in sophisticated design.

Establishing her brand in 1985, Meredithe Stuart-Smith worked with 70 San Francisco-based mothers who crafted cards from home, collecting supplies from her basement and working around their family commitments. “I started this because I wanted to pick my kids up from school,” says Meredithe.

Meredithe is arguably the original ‘mompreneur’ and ‘tablescaper’ – long before the terms were both coined. Within two years she’d sold her first range of cards to Bergdorf Goodman in New York City and Usbll was officially on its way to success.

The brand grows

By 1990 Usbll had five employees at a small office in California, and by 1996 the number had increased to 30 employees in the US and UK. Fast forward to 2024 and there are now 85 employees in the US and UK, with a head office in the heart of the Cotswolds in Cheltenham, UK, where Meredithe relocated in 1996, as well as an office in Reno, US.

In 2018, Usbll moved to a three-storey creative space in the Cotswolds-based town. This includes a state-of-the-art creative design studio, filled with sketches, drawers full of party plates, hats and decorations and plenty of bows and shimmer, where our dedicated designers make the magic happen.

Meredithe Stuart-Smith, Founder and President of Usbll

“I’ve always loved the process of coming up with an idea and bringing it to life. Imagination is freedom”