independent tuesdays!

This weeks independent tuesdays is from the beautiful retro brand Sally Sweetlove.

I asked Sally Sweetlove the usual five questions!

Describe Sally Sweetlove in 3 words. 

 Feminine wearable retro

How did you become interested in fashion? 

 I can't remember a time when I wasn't ! From wanting to dress like the 1940s and 1950s stars from the films I watched with my Nanna as a little girl and making clothes for my Sindy dolls there's not a time when clothes and fashion haven't been important to me. The first thing I made was in Primary School - it was a red corduroy bib skirt, I wore it until it went bald I loved it so much . I have never wanted to conform, making my own clothes has always allowed me to do that .

Why did you decide to set Sally Sweetlove up and how did you do it?

I wear Retro every day , and people are always asking where I get my clothes from and when I tell them I make them the question is always the same " Will you make something for me ?" In the end I gave in ! My good friends have also been instrumental in persuading me to set it up .

What words of advice would you give to anyone wanting to set up their own fashion brand? 

 Love what you do , keep it wearable ( I don't make anything I don't have a version of myself) . Don't just like your garments, love them.

Where do you see Sally Sweetlove going in the next 5 years/ what plans do you have for the future? 

 Its very early days for us . I want to see the brand consolidate and get a solid customer base who will return because they love the wearability, simplicity and individuality of the styles.

I LOVE beautiful prints and retro style and Sally Sweetlove perfects this. Sally Sweetlove's bandannas are amazing! There are also some beautiful tops and dresses. Be sure to take a look. They are the perfect thing for summer and will go with everything! I know what I want to be wearing this summer.

Now go and show some support for Sally Sweetlove by heading over to the Facebook Page or Etsy Page.

♥

There won't be an independent tuesdays! post next week as I will be at Norwich Fashion Week!

independent tuesdays!

This weeks feature is the quirky Clotique!

I asked Clotique five questions.

Describe Clotique in 3 words.
Funky, Fun and unique

How did you become interested in making jewellery/accessories?I became interested in making jewellery and accessories when I stumbled upon Etsy.com. It was during the summer holidays, and you get bored with having nothing to do. I had around 2-3months before starting my first year at university. A friend told me about how great Etsy was and that you could purchase many unusual things that you cannot find on the high street. I looked through for hours finding many wonderful things. So then I decided I would like to try. I have always struggled to find jewellery I like in the high street shops. Its rather difficult to find anything of a kitsch/kawaii style in shops at the moment. So this is where my interest sprung from. Its not just to make money, its certainly a hobby that I love to do.

Why did you decide to set Clotique up and how did you do it?The name Clotique came from a business project I did in college just before leaving. It was for a different business idea but I loved the name so I stuck to it. The initial thought on setting up Clotique was to hopefully bring potential customers from the UK something a bit different. I started on Facebook with very little. Luckily I had some savings and help from family to get my supplies up and buy all those essential tools. Facebook was a bit of a struggle, but at the time I could not afford to make many pieces or afford the fees on Etsy even though that is only $0.20 per item. Also not having paypal was an issue, since it is essential to have for the use of Etsy. Getting fans on Facebook took a lot of time and effort, and did not really pay off. As soon as I had more of an inventory I decided it was time to move over to Etsy. This was the best choice I made. I have been selling on Etsy now for just under three months and am nearly at the 100 sales mark. Which I think is fantastic since I started with basically nothing. Once I started Etsy, I realised a lot of my potential customers where international, so I started selling everywhere and not just the UK. Id say about 80% of my sales have been international. A lot of people are afraid to do this due to costs and losing packages. To date I have not had any lost in the post, and to be honest it is not really that expensive.

What words of advice would you give to anyone wanting to set up their own jewellery/accessory brand?You need to put in a lot of effort to advertise yourself and build up a big inventory of items. I would also suggest selling on Etsy rather than Facebook or Ebay etc. Pictures of your products are also very important. They need to be light and clear so your potential customers can get the best idea possible of what your product is. You must remember that they cannot physically touch or see your product. If you decide to use Etsy, then the better your pictures and the larger your inventory equals more sales. Remember to be patient. Those first few sales can take a while, but they should roll in after!

Where do you see Clotique going in the next 5 years/ what plans do you have for the future?I have started to participate in local craft fairs. My area had none at all until recently. This was great and got Clotique a lot of new fans. I have one on the 3rd of March too, I am certainly hoping for this one to be an even bigger success! I am hoping in the future to become a part of larger fairs and travel across the UK to be in some. I love the feeling you get of people admiring your work and bringing them something unique in return. I have also started on household items. I have a few jewellery boxes and photo frames coming up in the near future, they are all very unique and I am very glad to be introducing them to the market. I am also hoping to move into sterling silver jewellery and metal stamping. These are quite expensive to get into so I best start saving!

I love Clotique's jewellery so much! Not only is it amazing some of it is Harry Potter themed! What more could you want? It refreshingly different and totally new to anything you see on the highstreet. I love the eyeball ring! How quirky!

I suggest you head over to Clotique's Facebook page or Etsy and get buying now!

♥

independent tuesdays!

This week's independent tuesdays! feature is the gorgeous Trashy Doll.

I asked the fabulous Jodie at Trashy Doll five questions.

Describe Trashy Doll in 3 words.

Kitsch, Quirky, Fun!

How did you become interested in making jewellery/accessories?

I love to wear jewellery thats different from whats available on the high street, however this can be hard to find! Especially at a reasonable price! So I started to make my own pieces and it grew from there.

Why did you decide to set Trashy Doll up and how did you do it?

The more I wore my own pieces the more I was asked where I got them from, so I decided to set up my own website. I found a local company that specialised in e-commerce websites and gave them my ideas. I wanted a company name that represented the jewellery, I chose Trashy Doll as the jewellery is kitsch but girly at the same time. 

What words of advice would you give to anyone wanting to set up their own jewellery/accessory brand?

Go for it! Get friends and family involved to help spread the word and wear your jewellery/accessories. Find out where your local craft fairs are held to see how well certain items sell, this is also a great way to advertise your brand. Try and find inspiration for new and original items as often as possible.

Where do you see Trashy Doll going in the next 5 years/ what plans do you have for the future?

As the website only launched less than 6 months ago there is plenty still to achieve. I plan to adverise in magazines/blogs to help raise awarness of the site so that in 5 years time the site is well known with regular customers. I aim to have new items coming into stock every week and keep upto date with current trends for inspiration for new items. 

I adore quirky jewellery and I absoloutley love Trashy Doll. I am in love with the camera ring and the cat stud earrings. I love anything to do with cats! I totally recommed Trashy Doll to everyone and the prices are more than reasonable. The jewellery is really on trend and it's a great way to jazz up any outfit. I suggest you all get over to Trashy Doll right this minute!

And if you are a LittlePaperSwans follower you can head over to Trashy Doll's website now and get 10% off anything you buy! Just enter the code

LITTLEPAPERSWANS

at the checkout and recieve 10% off all orders. Now you've got to love that!

So what are you waiting for? Go visit trashydoll.com now!



♥

independent tuesdays!

This week's independent tuesdays! post is a quirky up and coming jewellery company. E-bowtique!

E-bowtique

(photo credits: Models: Goldy Loxx, Betty Havok)
(Photographers: James Garfield Photography, Tori Andrews Photography and Zoe Noir Photography)

I asked E-bowtique five questions!

Describe E-Bowtique in 3 words.Kitsch, Handmade and Unique.

How did you become interested in making jewellery?I have always made jewellery in one form or another from being a small child. I originally started making friendship bracelets with cotton, learning different patterns from a book and bead bracelets for friends and then began selling them. It’s always been something I have done which progressed to what bowtique is now. I studied art textiles and now think jewellery is just another way of me being creative in way which fits in with doing a degree which isn’t arty or creative.

Why did you decide to set E-Bowtique and how did you do it?I didn’t make a conscious decision to set bowtique up, it all just seemed to happen. I was in college and became really ill for a long time which effected my energy levels, when I started to get better the one thing I could do was sit and make hair accessories and jewellery. Also the only real place i went to when I started to get better were markets and I just started buying supplies. My friends then started buying them and then their friends, not long after I moved away to go to university and decided to set up a facebook account so people could see what new things were available and it just spiraled into what it is now via social networking. I did get my jewellery in to a shop not too long ago but unfortunately that’s now closed down but I am currently working on a website because it seemed the next  step to take.

What words of advice would you give to anyone wanting to set up their own jewellery brand? Enjoy it. If it’s handmade you need to enjoy making it otherwise there is no point in doing it, it becomes boring, you won’t want to do it and your customers will notice. Research is important, you need to see what is available to buy on the high street not just the internet as costume jewellery is so widely available and at such cheap prices now. Use your own preferences interests and ideas to create things you like too, not just what you think others will like.

Where do you see E-Bowtique going in the next 5 years/ what plans do you have for the future?I plan to just keep making unique fun jewellery at affordable prices. As I am at University Bowtique is something which has to fit in alongside it, however I plan to have the website up and running in the near future which will free up more time for me to make new things and experiment with new techniques and expand my product range. I want to get my jewellery into boutiques and take part in fairs and events more than anything to get the name out there and so more people are able to actually try on the jewellery and see it in person.

I came across E-bowtique on Facebook and instantly fell in love with the brand. I am a massive fan of jewellery anyway and I love quirky and unique jewellery. It's perfect for anyone who wants to stay clear of the commercial jewellery. Head over to E-Bowtique if you want something totally cute, but totally different.

And if you head over to E-Bowtique's facebook page which you can find here. As soon as they get to 500 likes a little bird told me that there will be a giveaway! So what's not to like!

Head over there now!

♥

If you would like to take part in independent tuesdays! please email me on littlepaperswans@gmail.com



independent tuesdays!

I decided that Tuesday's would now forever be known as independent tuesdays! Celebrating independent fashion brands. The lovely Kiran from REDROCK Fashion contacted me via twitter and I thought that REDROCK Fashion would be the perfect starting point for independent tuesdays!

REDROCK FASHION

I asked five questions about REDROCK FASHION!

Describe RedRock in 3 words.

unique bitching vintage

How did you become interested in fashion?

Fashion is something I have always been interested in. I come from a fairly creative background where by my mother and grandmother were always sewing around me. So when I was old enough I adopted my mothers sewing machine and began to customise/make my own clothing.

Why did you decide to set REDROCK up and how did you do it?
After I graduated I was making pieces for friends and family, I received a great response and thought it would be great to do something i love for a living. So in 2009 REDROCK was born and has been growing ever since with requests from Peaches Geldof, Paloma Faith, Elen Rivas, Lauren Pope, Audrey Kitching, Tali Lennox and is adorned by an army of fashion forward bloggers.

What words of advice would you give to anyone wanting to set up their own fashion brand?

You really have to want it so dedication and determination is key. Before you set up do lots of research so you know what you are in for. Speak to other designers about there experiences and think about the skills you have and what you can utilise and what you need to improve on.

Where do you see REDROCK going in the next 5 years/ what plans do you have for the future?
I see REDROCK to continue to grow by arranging more trade shows and possibly expanding into menswear.

I absolutely love REDROCK and what they stand for. The style is unique and is refreshingly different to the commercial high street. The fashion is really young and playful. The pieces are reasonably priced and the choice of vintage is amazing. I recommend you all take a look at REDROCK and if you follow them on twitter  right now and retweet their giveaway status you could be in with a chance to win a fantastic goody bag! I know I'm going to!

So what are you waiting for? Go!

*If you would like to take part in independent tuesdays! please get in touch at littlepaperswans@gmail.com and I will get back to asap!*

♥