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Exquisitely British - The British Entrepreneur Club for Luxury Brands
MEMBER INTERVIEWS > HOME & GARDEN Q&A
An Interview with...
Sue Barrett & Louise Zadok
Founders of Poppy & Rufus
By Clare Heighway - 16th September 2014
We chat to Sue Barrett and Louise Zadok, the co-founders of dog accessories brand Poppy & Rufus.
Tell us a bit about yourselves?
Louise and I are great friends who met at Sheffield University many years ago. With busy family lives (we are both mums of two) and living 200 miles apart, we've kept in touch sporadically over the years. - you know how it is. Starting the business together has renewed that friendship in a really rewarding way. It goes without saying that we're both big dog lovers too.
Where did the idea for Poppy & Rufus come from?
I’d dreamed of running my own business but never had that brilliant idea until I got a dog! Greeted by a range of dull and uninspiring pet products, Louise (mum to Rufus) and I (mum to Poppy) saw a yawning gap in the market for really useful dog products that look gorgeous too. With our shared love of creative design and inspirational home décor, we took the idea and ran. Our vision was to create a co-ordinated range of luxurious, beautiful and useful accessories for dogs and their owners, which are as lovely as the stylish homes they live in but also functional, practical and designed to last.
Who is a Poppy & Rufus customer?
Our customers are people like us who get a buzz from creative design and what’s new in the shops. People who want products that enhance their home and lifestyle. And with a much-loved four legged member of the family of course!
What has been your biggest challenge?
Looking back, designing and finding manufacturers for our collections was a breeze. Our biggest challenge has been, and still is, getting people to know about the brand. We have big ambitions and a very small budget! Being self-funded, we just don't have the resources that bigger brands have so we have needed to learn lots and work really hard to spread the word. Personal recommendations are worth their weight in gold and our customers have been great recommending us to friends and family and through social media. Thanks to all of them.
What has been your biggest highlight?
Our biggest highlight has to be meeting customers who love our designs as much as we do. It’s fantastic seeing people’s reactions to our stand at shows and we just love hearing the frequent phrase “I love your stuff, now I just need a dog!”
What or who are you inspired by?
Louise has always been crazy for Scandinavian design - her house is a shrine to printed textiles and felted wool, with inspiration from Bengt and Lotte, Klippan and a certain large blue and yellow store. So we have definitely taken inspiration from the pure, clean elegance of Scandinavian chic, treasured possessions and our favourite things. We love it when customers recognise these elements and more than once, people from Nordic countries have declared us ‘hyggelig’; cosy, calming and homely!
Do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs?
Everyone will start their business in their own way but we think our top tips would be:
· Do something that inspires you and make it fun – your enthusiasm will be infectious
· Don’t be afraid to ask – you will be amazed how many people are willing to help
· Remember people do business with people they like – take the time to build relationships and show your appreciation.
What does your "typical" work day look like?
We try to keep things as simple as possible to fit in with our family life. We catch up on the phone most mornings as we walk Poppy and Rufus so that’s a great start to the day. The work has divided up quite organically to fit our different skills and interests. Our day-to-day is getting orders out, updating the website, being social on twitter and facebook, planning for shows and sales and of course dreaming up new products for the future. But best of all is laughter - we have lots of it!
Do you have any favourite British brands?
Certain brands and designers have definitely changed the way we shop and choose things for their style as well as practicality, such as Orla Keily, Cath Kidston and Conran. We love colourful Boden and lovely Loaf, but equally admire people doing what we are doing all by themselves, who we meet at shows and events.
What do you think is important in developing a successful British brand?
We knew instinctively what we wanted to give our customers. Rather than buying from a faceless giant of a company, we wanted customers to feel they were buying from real people and investing in real, individual businesses. We think this is a really important part of developing a successful British brand. We want people to make a connection with us and feel part of something special.
How do you manage the work/life balance?
Balancing our enthusiasm and passion for the business with our busy home and family lives is hard. It was really hard to put down the Ipad in the early days when we had so many ideas buzzing around our heads and so much to research and plan. Even harder to get our teenagers to put their Ipads away when we couldn’t ourselves!
We are still learning as we go along and you basically become more efficient at prioritising. It’s important not to lose sight of why you are doing what you do and to keep an eye on the grand scheme of things, which keeps things in perspective. I personally find it best to draw a very clear line between family life and work life as blurring the two does not work. This way focus on each can be 100%. However, there are never enough hours in the day so you do what you have to do!
What are your plans for the future?
We have lots of ideas and plans for the future. Our immediate plans involve the launch of colourful collars and leads and we have lots of other products at the design and planning stage. We believe our concept of creating useful and beautiful products, sourced and manufactured in Britain, applies not just to products for an array of different pets but whole new product areas too. But most of all, we want to continue making our customers and their dogs happy.
For more information visit www.poppyandrufus.co.uk
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