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Exquisitely British - The British Entrepreneur Club for Luxury Brands
MEMBER INTERVIEWS > HOME & GARDEN Q&A
An Interview with...
Dawn Rose
Founder of Ragged Rose
By Clare Heighway - 14th October 2014
We chat to Kent based entrepreneur Dawn Rose, who tells us how she went from Head Buyer at Selfridges to starting her own interiors business.
Dawn, can you tell us bit about yourself?
I originate from Sheffield in Yorkshire and have always had a passion for fashion and clothing. At 16, I left home and went to the London College of Fashion to study Clothing Design and Manufacture. I spent a Gap Year working for Paul Costelloe in Ireland before joining the Burton Group as a Trainee Buyer. At 24, I was one of the youngest buyers and travelled the world sourcing and creating fashion ranges. By the time I got married and had my two boys, I was Head of Buying at House of Fraser and then onto Selfridges as Head of Home.
I was approached by one of my suppliers to set up a brand, as I was missing the creativity of putting a range together, so in 2011 I launched Ragged Rose.
Where does your inspiration come from for your Ragged Rose designs?
The inspiration for Ragged Rose stems from my garden summer house in the heart of the gorgeous Kent countryside. Central to the brand is my passion for beautiful country garden flowers on a hot summer’s day, combined with a love of strong, bold, vibrant colour.
Each of my hand-painted style designs concentrates on one flower which is striking in appearance such as the rose or anemone. This is then complemented by colour co-ordinating plains in luxury fabrics such as velvet, along with ragged stripes and small ditzy mini prints of leaves or petals that unite the whole concept.
What has been your biggest challenge?
I could not have imagined when I launched in 2011, how tough the economic climate would be and its effect on the brand. It has certainly been a huge learning curve establishing the brand in such a tough economic environment.
Also, underestimating how vitally important good working systems are to the brand from a fully functional website to stock inventory and invoicing – everything has to gel in order for the business to be successful.
What has been your biggest highlight?
To be showcased in the Summerhouse at the NEC Spring Fair 2013. This is the biggest Trade Fair of the year and I was chuffed to bits to be allowed into the exclusive Summerhouse section. A fabulous highlight for 2014 was to be sponsored to exhibit at a Trade Fair in Japan – what an amazing experience that was!
Do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs?
Be prepared for sheer hard graft and slog working all hours. You need to be steely minded, focused and above all else believe in yourself and your idea. Be prepared to be knocked back from disbelievers, banks and jealousy from all corners.
What does your "typical" work day look like?
I am an evening person to be honest and can work late into the night yet the mornings for me are when it’s hard to get going. I am usually up at 7am to get my youngest son to school who is mildly autistic. Once he is off to school, I take the dogs out for a walk before settling at my desk to start work at 10am. I don’t stop, or come up for air, until at least 6pm when I start to think about dinner and walking the dogs again. My partner comes home from work and we start again at 8pm and often work until midnight before the whole process starts again the next day!
Do you have any favourite British brands?
I adore Designers Guild who inspired me for colour and Ted Baker for the quirkiness.
What do you think is important in developing a successful British brand?
You need to develop a signature look that is unique, as well as researching the market and listening to feedback from your customers.
How do you manage the work/life balance?
I don’t! I work 24/7 until I can get my brand recognised on the High St. My sanity are my dogs -2 golden doodles who MUST be taken for a good walk twice a day and I also have a fantastic partner and without him, I could never have got this far.
What are your plans for the future?
I would like Ragged Rose to become synonymous with colour in your life for both home accessories and giftware. It would be amazing to eventually open a chain of shops and expand to the Far East with Ragged Rose becoming an internationally recognised brand.
For more information on Ragged Rose visit the website at www.raggedrose.com
Ragged Rose are a Best of British member.
Read more about them here.
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