Ten years ago single mother Carli MacDonald strapped her baby son to her back and set off to travel around Bali, Nepal, Thailand and India.

As they went, she bought 14-month-old Alex clothes made by local people and picked up a few extra hats and jumpers to sell when she got home.

On their return she found friends and even strangers in the street would remark on how much they liked what he wore.

She realised there was a market for ethnic children's clothes which at the time were not available in the UK.

It marked the start of her clothing company Su Su Ma Ma, which means mother's milk in Indonesian.

Mother and son returned to India, Thailand, Nepal and Indonesia each winter and the business grew.

On that first trip Carli brought back around 20 kg of clothes. She now orders more than 2,000kg, providing regular work for up to 11 small family-run businesses.

Carli, who is in her 40s, runs Su Su Ma Ma on her own. The company sells bright, fun children's wear, including fancy dress costumes, over the internet and through some clothes shops.

She recently started a line of adult fairy dresses which she found have been particularly popular with men.

She said: "I've always travelled and loved textiles and arty things.

"I would see children's clothes and think, 'Wow, that's beautiful, can you make ten of those?' "

When she is not exploring dusty bazaars in Jaipur and thronged markets in Kathmandu she lives in Saltdean - and has created a little corner of South East Asia and beyond in her suburban home.

Carli originally trained as a stage designer at Central St Martin's in London before becoming a primary school teacher and traces her unique style to a love of all things theatrical and dramatic.