2015 – where do I begin? What an amazing year this has been. I feel my business really began, I have become obsessed and I am so grateful to have achieved my longest dream at just age 20. Don’t get me wrong the 13 hour days and 7 day weeks over the past couple of months have been the furthest from easy but once you begin to see the results it all becomes worth it. My products are constantly improving, my range is growing and my brand is becoming stronger each season. We are regularly shipping orders all over the world and my social media platforms, mainly instagram, are rapidly taking over my competitors, and we’ve only been going a year and a half! This year alone I have sold over 2000 pairs of breeches, which to me is an extraordinary figure considering we have constantly been out of stock in most popular sizes and styles, trying to catch up with demand. We have moved to bigger premises with a separate office and a large stock room and personally, I feel I have really grown into a woman.
As for my highlights of the year I think I have covered them above, I always love collection drops - seeing my drawings being turned into physical garments when I first see marketing samples hasn't yet faded at all, it still feels like christmas overtime! Starting any new business is a challenge, but we maybe slightly underestimated the work involved in a process as long as ours, my job covers right from the design of a product to the end of its journey being sold first hand to a customer. There’s so many elements and stages to manage that aren’t initially thought about or known, it has been a long yet exciting learning curve but I really feel we’ve found our place in the market and everything from day one has seemed to just fall into place like it was meant to be. The demand for the brand and the size of our social media following has exceeded all expectations and goals, I can’t thank all of our customers enough!
Going into 2016 we have so many exciting plans and new collections that I can't wait to reveal to you all – including our brand new re vamped best selling Technical Stretch Leggings, which have been out of stock in our main sizes for around 5 months now! In fact they've been out of stock for probably 90% of the time we've been trading as every time I receive an order they sell out within a week. The new updated versions look amazing and will be back online for pre sale in February with the rest of our Pre SS//16 Collection!
My main goal for this year is to smash demand planning and try to keep up with rate of sales growth to always have products that you want in stock! We are currently putting in a huge order to arrive mid summer which should hopefully be enough products to last us the season. If not and we sell out at the rate of this year then you will most definitely find me in Barbados for the whole Christmas period haha! I also want to mention our upcoming SS//16 collection, I can only apologise that we have practically no breeches left under a size 10, although there are worse problems to have, and I am definitely not complaining - I know a few of you have been a little frustrated in the lack of stock we have left. Our SS//16 collection of breeches will be shipped in April, the new colours and designs look amazing! Always so so exciting. We will also be getting a big refresh of our standard competition breeches with the order shipping April, with which we are also adding another new colour! Again I can only apologise that we can't get anything in faster, which the breeches being such a technical product they can't be rushed. On the plus side, they will be here and ready for the main of the summer season.
I’m so excited for the next few months and I hope you all carry on enjoying my products as I am enjoying getting them to you. Quick thank you to my lovely mum / fellow director who works day in day out with me here in the office, even though she is a pain in the ass some days I really couldn’t do it without her and don't tell her enough :)
So yes – here’s to Aztec Diamond Equestrian and 2016, I cant bloody wait! Second year of many, I’m so ready. Come and join the team… the ring is your catwalk.
