How to launch a fashion brand – with Helen Barker – the Fika Edit

Welcome to the Bring Your Product Ideas to Life podcast, practical advice

and inspiration to help you create and sell your own physical products.

Here's your host, Vicki Weinberg.

Hello.

Today I'm talking to Helen Barker, the co-founder of Fika.

Helen's aim is to create a positive impact on the fashion industry through her

slower pace sustainably conscious brand.

So Helen and I spent lots of time talking about the fashion industry

as a whole and some of the issues that Helen sees with the industry.

And what she's doing as the co-founder of Fika to change that.

So we talk a lot about slow fashion, sustainable fashion, as well as how

to start a fashion brand from scratch.

So whether you are interested in starting a fashion brand, whether

you're just interested in fashion in general, or perhaps neither, I

honestly think you'll, you'll find this episode really interesting and

fascinating, um, as Helen is really open and she has lots to share with us.

So hi, Helen.

Thank you so much for being here.

Hi.

Thanks for having me.

I'm so excited.

Oh, me too.

Um, so can we please start with you giving an introduction to yourself, your

business, and what you sell, please?

Yeah.

So I'm Helen.

I am co-founder and owner of Fika, which is a responsibly

sourced fashion brand for women.

And our aim is to really create a beautiful range that empower

women, make them feel amazing, but also give them those key pieces

that they need in their wardrobe.

It's, it's quite a different model.

We're kind of trying to slow things down a bit, which, which

I know we'll go into a bit later.

Yeah, it would be good to talk about that actually.

But I think before we go into what Fika's looking to do, um, maybe we'll

talk about, a bit about the fashion industry in general, because I know

from, um, speaking to you before that the kind of reason behind Fika is that

there are some issues that you guys see with the fashion industry as it is.

So do you want to talk a little bit about that, about the issues you're seeing and

then what Fika is doing to address that?

Yeah, definitely.

So, um, just to give you a bit of background, Fika means to slow down

and appreciate the good things in life.

It's a Swedish term, so that's kind of where it all started in a pandemic

when you know, everyone has stopped.

Um, and it really gave me and my business partner time to really

reflect on the industry, what's going on, and what really needs to change.

Everyone sat back and thought, okay, there needs to be a big change.

I think the big problems at the moment is fast fashion.

As a, as a nation, we've got used to wearing things once,

throwing them away, and that's become like almost like a culture.

And so in return, things are being mass produced quickly, quickly, quickly.

And also consumers are used to receiving those products really

quickly next day, sometimes same day.

So there's this kind of quite difficult cycle that has kind of been

born and it's really not sustainable for the future in terms of, you

know, where our planet is going.

And also in terms of the people making the, you know, the

factories and things like that.

It's just not a sustainable model, um, to keep kind of producing in that way.

So at Fika we really wanted to do something different,

make a real statement.

It was really scary to put it out there because, I don't know many

people that have kind of done it this way and um, through talking

to people, people are very excited about it, but it is quite a different

way, thing, to get your head around.

So we are really promoting slow fashion and really considering those purchases.

So our range is really designed to kind of be worn for season

after season, year after year.

We show people how to look after their clothing.

I know it sounds, you know, ridiculous, but actually if you look after

things properly, you know how to do that, then you know, those clothes

can be worn and worn and worn.

We really want to want people to keep their clothes for longer.

We want to try and send out, but basically the opposite message to fast fashion,

and I think that is where the industry kind of has to go in terms of the future.

That really makes sense.

I mean, I know for myself, I've definitely got to a point and I don't know whether

it's a point in my life or just, I don't know, but where I definitely

would rather spend a little bit more money on something that's good quality.

And I also consider purchases a lot more.

If I'm not going to wear something you know, week in and week out.

Well, maybe you don't wear things that often, but if, if you can't, if I

can't see myself wearing something that often I think, do I actually need it?

And I do think that maybe there is getting more of a shift

in that direction, perhaps.

Definitely.

I think, I think the pandemic has been a big part of that shift.

I think without that I don't know whether we would be seeing such a change.

I think we really are at an interesting and exciting

turning point in the industry.

Not just fashion, but many other industries as well.

I know lots of other people that are starting small businesses, um, kind

of during and after the pandemic, and I think there's a lot of more

that to come, which is great.

I think I'm really, really looking forward to seeing what everyone else does.

So you've mentioned quite a few things

that Fika are doing differently.

Let's, let's talk about some of those, if that's okay.

So, when you talk about slow fashion, and for anyone who doesn't know, you

know, is not aware of the term, how, how would you define slow fashion?

Um, for us it's, we use a made to order model.

Um, so it's about a three month turnaround, which, uh, you know, it's

quite a long time for people to wait, but, um, we do all that work in advance.

So we do it three months in advance of when it kind of

needs to be in for that season.

So, um, we, we want the range to be multi-seasonal, so it's

going to be worn across a season.

We're showing people on our Instagram how to style it, how to layer it.

Um, so yeah, that's kind of.

Oh, I see.

So, so it's not that the consumer orders and waits three months, it's the, from

the time that you place that order.

Yeah.

So we'll do it in advance and then it'll come in, you know,

that seasonally appropriate time.

Most of our stuff can be kind of worn throughout the year, but then there

are a couple of, you know, like coats.

And high summer dresses that need to be worn at certain times of the year.

But apart from that, um, yeah, we make sure that what we do is we get wholesale

orders at the moment, and then for Fika, the Fika brand, we go on the back of that.

So we don't create anything or make anything additional that hasn't been

bought by our wholesale stockists as well.

Oh, that's really interesting and we'll talk a bit more

about how, so either, so obviously you're getting the orders and then,

and then making it, that that is a really different way of doing it.

Because I've.

Yes.

Yeah.

Am I right thinking that usually in the fashion industry,

brands would make a whole load of different products and different ranges?

Yeah.

And then trying, and I guess that's why you see some of

the High Street brands have these huge sales where they're really

discounting things into the season.

Yeah.

I worked in the, um, fashion industry for the last 15 years for a supplier,

so I was an account manager, so I did all of the selling, but all of

the creative side with the sign team and we work with a lot of big brands.

So I think that's where I've learned a lot of what I want to do differently.

And not necessarily, it's quite a traditional, you know, people do things

in a certain way in the fashion industry in terms of what season stock go, stock

goes in, um, and just the whole process.

And I was like, well, we don't have to do it like that.

We can do it, you know, the world is changing.

The climate is changing outside.

You know, we're here in November and the sun's shining and, you know, it's, it's,

um, we just have to be really adaptable.

And again, that's another thing that I took from the pandemic and also having

had so much experience in so many different brands, you know, from sort

of supermarket brands to more high, high end, global high street brands in the UK

and also America and things like that.

So it's kind of clubbing all that information together and really thinking,

okay, how can we use all of these tools that we, we've kind of previously seen and

put it to the absolute best kind of use.

Yeah, that makes sense.

And and you mentioned then, as we talked about you, you have a

three month, sort of order time.

So let's talk a little bit about the sourcing and production.

Because I know that you source responsibly, so can you maybe talk

a little bit about what that means and then talk a little bit about the

production process, if that's okay.

Yeah, of course.

So, um, responsibly sourced is the main ethos of our, of our brand is,

um, you know, ensuring that we're using sustainably sourced fabrics.

Um, at the moment we have kept it quite tight and quite small.

We use a lot of organic cotton, recycled polyester, and then ecovero.

That's kind of the main things that we use.

Because as a small brand it is really difficult.

Obviously our quantities are really small and it's really difficult to make that

work with a, you know, a manufacturing unit that's quite established.

Um, so we've kept it tight, but we've kind of made sure the styles are doing

different jobs within our range for that, for those different types of customer.

Um, and I, you are quite lucky because obviously having that experience and

having contacts in the industry have pulled out a lot of favours and a

lot of people have come to help us.

So, um, we produce in Vietnam.

Um, I've worked with Vietnam for a long, long time, and I've been there twice.

Been to the factories, absolutely love the kind of setup that they have there.

It's one of the only countries that I've visited that has an amazing skill

for multiproduct within one factory.

A lot of factories have, um, you know, specialized, you know, especially

with things like denim, they have a specialized factory and outerwear

because they're so technical.

Um, but in Vietnam, The level of the, the, the skill of the

multi-product is just incredible.

And it really kind of, I fell in love with it, fell in love with the

people and the kind of the whole, it's very established out there.

Um, so I just felt like for us it was kind of relatively easy to get

going, but still find finding those key factories that would support

us when we're smaller as well.

I think that is kind of the biggest hurdle that we've had to

overcome, but we've got there.

I think that's the main thing is to keep going.

Um, and you know, it all kind of works out in the end.

But yeah, one of the, the many kind of hurdles that we had to enjoy.

But yeah, I can see that must be a challenge finding someone who wants

to work with really small quantities.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm lucky that I kind of, yeah, managed to have those contacts, that support,

have been absolutely incredible in supporting, um, me and the brand.

So yeah, very, very lucky to have that.

And with the three months all the time, I mean, I, because

I honestly don't know this for the fashion industry, is that short or long?

Short, yeah, short.

So we, we normally work a year in advance, so when I was working for

suppliers, um, you know, the, the High Street will be working a year in

advance and they normally bring things like outerwear in, in sort of July,

September time, um, traditionally.

Um, so.

You know, they keep, they bring them in earlier.

They sort of tend to keep them in for longer.

I think that's changing a little bit now because of what the world's doing.

But I know a lot of retailers still kind of stick to that longer lead time.

They buy and bulk.

Um, and then obviously then they have to try and kind of, they get a better

cost price, but then they need to hopefully sell it and then kind of yeah.

So was that challenging as well from the point of finding suppliers?

Because obviously they'd be working to much shorter time

scales than they used to.

Yeah, I think for us, um, we did a lot of work on the fabric.

A lot of, lot of time.

The fabric takes a long, long time to make, you know, to source it and make it.

We did all that up front.

So when we were sort of creating the brand, we really honed in on

those key fabric bases that we really wanted to concentrate on,

and we made sure that they're there.

So that's why we've managed to kind of, although it's still quite long

for the consumer in terms of the fashion industry, it is quite quick.

Um, and we're lucky that we're working with factories that we're

actually doing them a favour.

So we've managed to, so when they're in their quiet, quieter periods

of time, they necessarily probably wouldn't have anything on the line.

They're slotting things, slotting our, our goods in there and making them.

So actually we're kind of helping them out and they're helping us out and it's

kind of worked really well because at, at times, factories can have really busy

times of the year because of the buying pattern of UK and global retailers.

Um, and then they have these really quiet times of year when

they, they don't have anything on.

And um, that's actually a really big cost for the factory to try and maintain

when they don't have as much going.

So they'd rather take these sort of smaller quantities, put on a bit of

a smaller line, um, and help us out.

So yeah, that's, it's taken a lot of planning, but obviously, because you

kind of know how it works that it, it's falling into place now and we are now

kind of getting into a groove with it.

I love that.

It's just so good that like everyone wins.

That's really good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I always wanted to, to kind of, my dad's got this saying and that he always wanted

me to sort of start my own business.

And he said, always do the right thing.

And so throughout the process of starting to think, I was like, right,

it's kind of my little motto in my head.

He kind of comes into my head, it's like, what is the right thing to do?

You have to build those, you know, we have this business because we've built

it and created those relationships for so long and I'm really, you know,

working with a small group of people, but I want to keep it with them, you

know, hopefully as we grow, we can grow with them and they'll grow with us.

And I think that's such an important part of the business.

That really is, and I think it's, you're right, those

relationships are so important because hopefully they're going to be long term.

Yeah, definitely.

Definitely.

I'm all about, uh, relationships, so yeah, it's really important to us and

yeah, we want to do the right thing and support manufacturing and also the

communities around it, um, as a business.

And it's really interesting what you were saying about

the fabric as well because one thing I noticed when I looked at your look

book, which I loved by the way, was you do a lot of, um, sort of, so I

was, I don't know how to call it, I would call it fashionable yet classic.

Yes.

But one thing I noticed that I loved was you would do like a, a like one beautiful

top in lots of different colors, but I'm assuming that's the same fabric and

it's being designed that way to help.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Throughout the design process I've got two designers I've worked with

again for a very, very long time in previous roles, and I worked

really closely with them throughout.

I wanted it to be, what are those key pieces?

There's like well made really beautiful fabric pieces that people

need and want to wear year, you know, like a strip t-shirt and a

gorgeous bit that's really flattering.

You know, I'm quite a curvy girl myself, so I'm really particular about

how things fit and little details.

So we've really used that throughout the process to make you know.

Basically what I feel like I've been missing for a long time.

And also, you know, friends and family, been a massive inspiration.

You know, I'm 36 and a lot of my friends, um, have come up to me and

said, we can't find anything, you know, you need to do something about it.

And so I was like, oh, right, okay.

Um, but you know, Fika is, it's aimed at 30 plus, so anything,

you know, my sister is 40.

I wanted her to be able to wear it.

My mum's nearly 70.

I want her to be able to wear it.

And we have had that feedback from people, which has been

brilliant and also from younger.

So it really is a brand, brand for everyone.

Hopefully.

Thank you.

And you touched on sizing then a moment ago.

So I know one of the other things that that Fika does is true to fit sizing.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

Yeah, so what it is and how you achieve that.

Because I cannot get my head around how for any fashion brand, um,

I was not, say for any fashion brand, they might close the fit.

And I have to say there are lots of fashion brands in my opinion, make

clothes that don't actually fit that well or don't fit consistently anyway.

Exactly, exactly.

That's, I mean, it's been what?

It's a minefield.

It absolutely is.

Because, you know, having worked with many different retailers, every retailer

has their own, you know, pattern and fit and look that they want to achieve.

I think for us, I wanted it to be more fluid.

So our sizing, apart from our denim, our denim is single size, but everything else

is extra small to extra, extra large.

And we've done that because we wanted it to be not just a size

eight, not just a size ten.

I wanted it to be more fluid within that.

And we've also designed the pieces to have comfort in them.

So we have, you know, on our formal trousers, we've got a little panel on

the back that's elasticated because you know, some people have curvy hips and

smaller waist, and some people, you know, are more conscious of their tummy areas.

They want a bit of give round there.

So, It's not just about the actual sizing, it's about creating breathable fabrics

and, you know, kind of movement within the garments so they can kind of fit as many

different body shapes as it possibly can.

Um, so our size is, you know, sort of like an 8 to 10 or

12 to 14, 16 to 18 and so on.

Um, it is more fluid in that way.

So I think, um, we want people to feel, to feel good and comfortable in clothing.

There's so many things that I've bought in the past and you know, it just hasn't

been representative, and you're right you know, it hasn't been consistent.

So for us, consistency is absolutely key.

We've done a lot of work on the patterns, um, you know, getting the fit right

and making that right, but also in terms of the pattern and making sure

that the wastage as a sustainable, responsibly sourced brand, the wastage

is all being kind of minimized and we're utilizing any wastage that comes

from outside the pattern as well.

That's all part of the process that we've put into, um, the fit as well as making.

So yeah.

Oh, wow.

And I love those little details.

Thank you.

It sounds like you put so much into this because I think there were so

many brands out there that, you know, you can buy one t-shirt and you an 8

and another T-shirt and you have a 10.

And it's really, and I'm assuming that's because, um, they use different

factories and different fabrics and.

Exactly, yeah.

And some of the, the you know, well cost effectiveness or cheaper brands,

they tend to kind of, the sizes can get smaller sometimes if they kind of have

a certain size of, um, width of fabric, they may try and squeeze a few more into

that panel of fabric than, than needed.

Whereas we overorder our slightly overorder our fabric so

there's more than enough room.

And then for our cotton example, we, um, are donating it so it can

be recycled into things like paper and cardboard and things like that.

Um, But it's, you know, you have to donate quite a lot of fabric, so

we're kind of collecting it all up.

Um, but yeah, it's kind of, it's, there's lots of things you can do.

It's just making it all work and meeting the right people.

That's amazing.

And I never knew that that's the reason because there were definitely some brands

out there and I won't name any on here.

There were definitely some brands out there though where you

know, you need to go up a size.

Well, I know, yeah.

There was a couple of brands where if I go to there, I need to go up a size,

because everything always is small.

I didn't know that was why.

That's so interesting.

I know it's bit naughty, but um, yeah, for us, I kind of want

people to be able to come to buy, especially with being an online brand.

You have to, you know, people need to know, you know, they bought that

t-shirt and they love that fit.

They want that to be the same, the same again.

So, um, yeah, it's continuity and transparency for us.

You know, I, having worked in the industry, I just want to be transparent

and real about what Fika is about and you know, what we're trying to do.

Well, thank you.

And you must mention then about, um, being an online brand and in a little

while we're going to talk about where people can actually buy fi from where

you're stocked and how you are binding stockist and, and that kind of thing.

But, so I'd love to know a little bit more about the process of sort of designing

and launching the brand because, um, so, what, two and a half years ago

maybe that you came up with the concept.

Can you talk us through a little bit of what it is, and I know

like it's, it's massive and you've gone into lots of details already.

I just think it'd be really useful for, of course, particularly interested in fashion

to kind of have a sense of the stages you need to go to, go through, sorry.

Um, yeah, no, definitely to launch, whether it's a fashion brand or

just a one off fashion product.

Because I'm assuming there were some key steps that you need to go through.

Yes, definitely.

Um, it's quite, you know, it changed a couple of times.

The first thing that obviously we did was research.

So research the market, what was out there, um, how we could do something

different to what was out there already.

I mean, I think following the pandemic in the last couple of years in the industry,

you know, the market's completely changed.

There's a lot of really well established brands that are not

there anymore or joined other brands.

So for us it was to see what was already out there, um, and really think

about who our targeted customer was.

So we did want it to be kind 30 plus, um, because we felt like that there wasn't

a lot out there for that age bracket.

Um.

And then the next thing we did was, which really was difficult, took

a long time, but really helped me, was to pinpoint our core values.

And almost like a mission statement, because I just think it's so important

to have that focus as a brand because you are creative, you're getting

all these different ideas, you're seeing all these different things.

You're meeting all these different people, you're getting all, you know,

it almost gets a little bit much.

So when you really hone into kind of your customer, who you're targeting,

um, and what those core values, what you really want to achieve,

and what our long term goal is.

You know, hopefully one day Fika will be able to expand into other areas,

you know, become more of a life brand.

I don't know if that will happen, but that was all part of the mindset

and I think it's really important to have that in your head as well.

Um, and then in terms of designing the product, we really went back to basics.

You know, having previously we would've, you know, looked at inspiration, looked,

um, you know, anything from things like art galleries to what people are wear,

actually wearing their street style.

Um, what other people are doing.

We kind of went everywhere and immersed ourselves.

We actually did a, um, we attended, me and the design team a seminar on

colour and how it, within sort of fashion and textiles and how certain

colours can sort of evoke certain kind of emotions and what colours would

do that and why they would do that.

So we kind of took that along with some of sort of seasonably

fashionable colours because we want be to be a happy, positive brand.

It's quite colourful.

Um, So that was really interesting.

And I actually, I loved doing things like that where you can really, and you

know, when we've done shows and things, people, you can see it come through

and people and they feed back to you.

So that's great.

Um, but we went back to basics and we literally, we would normally do it on a

computer, but we sat down, we had loads of images, we had a big, like a mood

board, like a physical mood board, and we literally just like pinned images on

there, fabrics on there, colours on there.

And that was our real basis of where the first range kind of started and

we had it in front of us all the time, and it was just so good to have it

in that really simple and plain way.

Because again, I think you can get really kind of confused about,

is this the right thing to do?

Is that the right thing to, especially when you're a small team as well,

you're second guessing everything you're doing when you're doing

it for the first time as well.

Um.

So it really kept us sort of in line and I was, I really wanted to create

that, you know, what is that capture wardrobe that that woman wants and

what does she want to update it with?

Um, and then it was kind of time to sort of, when we got that all together,

we made, obviously the samples and things like that, that took quite a long

time to get right, get the fit right.

I did that all in advance.

Whereas, you know, as a supplier, you would submit a sample and then

the kind of retailer would fit it.

But we did all of that beforehand because I just wanted to

reduce that lead time later on.

Um, and then we kind of went into the branding, which was super exciting.

We worked with a company, um, to help us on that because I, for me, I felt

like hope, it was a really important part of the brand that I was happy

to invest a little bit more money in.

Um, because I do see, hopefully the brand being going into

other avenues in the future.

And I wanted a, a logo and an aesthetic that that would work

on different, different things.

And, um.

That as well really helped the brand come to life.

But that was a big process.

I mean, you know, just getting, getting it all right, but it did all fall into place.

You know, all those things.

Um, obviously took quite a long time, so I'm whizzing through it a little bit more.

No, that's fine.

But yeah, it, all of those kind of things came together

and then, then we did a show in Birmingham early in September.

That was our first show, and we kind of put the brand out there and

everyone loved it and it, that's where it all kind of started.

How it happened.

Oh, amazing.

Oh, thank you.

Um, so your show you did in September, is that where you found

your first stockist for the brand?

Yes, yes.

Yeah, we did really well.

To be honest, that was really a show for us to create brand awareness and get

real kind of feedback on, on the range.

And, you know, there's nothing like in real life getting

someone's real reaction to things.

And it was absolutely, it was more than I could have ever, have asked for in terms

of feedback and meeting people just, you know, familiarizing yourselves with

people that have their own businesses, that have their own independent boutiques.

They're actually doing really well at the moment, which is brilliant.

You know the UK High Street, I know that times are tough and for everyone at the

moment, but you know, these independent businesses are doing really well, which

is great to see, and everyone's really kind of pulling together and supporting

each other, which is really nice.

Even the other sort of fashion brands, everyone's doing their

own thing, um, and supporting each other, which I think is really nice.

Because there is enough space for everyone.

Everyone's so different.

Definitely.

So was this a trade show specifically for the fashion industry?

And so it, well, it was Moda, so we did Moda, which has got,

um, yeah, bottom fair on it as well.

So yeah, we were in the fashion bit, obviously next to the catwalk, and we

got, you know, some things on the catwalk.

They came over, they loved it so much, said, oh, can you get

some things on the catwalk?

And we were like, yes, of course.

Um, so that was incredible as well.

And you know, industry, people from the industry, like Drapers

magazine, they came and loved the brand and did a whole feature on me.

So just having that awareness for us, you know, when we just

launched was, was incredible.

Really saying getting orders, which obviously is the main, main reason we

were there, which I didn't, I didn't really, didn't expect on the first show.

I was kind of prepared for it to be a little bit longer, so that was great.

No, that is great.

So it sounds like you, you were there with the intention of getting some

feedback maybe and around awareness.

Yeah.

And then people were like, so can we buy?

And I was like, uh, yeah, of course you can.

Yeah.

So that was, I mean, it was amazing.

That's absolutely incredible.

That's brilliant.

And is, well, are you able to tell us any of the places you stock first of all?

Are there a few that you can tell us?

Yeah, we haven't gone in yet.

We're going in, um, to a couple in December.

So there's one called Moo which is based in Leamington Spa and one in North Wales,

which is, I don't think she's opened yet.

Um, she's actually opening on the 1st of December herself.

So she's bought a really big Fika range.

Um.

Which is amazing.

And there's one called Domestic Science, which is based on the Cotswolds.

We've got some things going a little bit later for them.

But again, they, they've got three stores.

So for us that was just brilliant.

Um, and then, um, and Dream On, uh, which supports, um, women that are um,

recovering from cancer, which is something really close to my heart personally.

Um, so when she, I met her at the show, and you know, what the, what they do

for, for women is just incredible.

So we really wanted to be a part of that as well.

That's amazing.

And a trade show is the main way that you're finding stockists?

Because as a new brand, I guess it must be quite hard to, to get

stocks and I guess if people can see your clothes and feel your clothes,

it must make a huge difference.

That's exactly what it is.

I think when people actually saw it and could feel it, they were like,

okay, this, this is worth, you know, this, this money sort of thing.

You know, we were trying to be a fair price.

We're not super expensive, we're not super cheap.

We're just somewhere in the middle.

We're trying to kind of give people really great quality for a fair price.

That's really what I'm really passionate about achieving.

Um, and yeah, it, it definitely.

Trade shows at the moment was probably something I hadn't thought about.

My business partner, he has a home fragrance brand, which I know, you

know, and he has done quite a lot of these trade shows and I helped

him for a day on a couple of them.

And I think that's what really inspired me, seeing everyone have their own

little niche, their own little business.

Um, I thought actually this is a really great way of, you know, I'd

never kind of seen that kind of thing.

So I'm in such a different world.

So for us, it has just been incredible.

I'm actually doing three more, one in January and two in February, um,

just because they're a brilliant opportunity to network and meet people.

I mean, it's just, yeah, it's great.

It's really, I'd really recommend it if you're a new brand.

It's really worth it.

Yeah, I actually met your business partner, Demi, at a trade show.

They are great.

I'd never been to one.

It was my first one I attended, and I just think they're brilliant because

as you say, you just get, and it, because I think this, particularly with

fashion, I mean I think it's probably the same for lots of other products.

So Demi was there with his candle brands, and I felt thinking that's

a product that you need to actually be able to smell because it's not.

Definitely it makes such a, and people were trying things on

and, uh, we didn't, we made a bit of a mistake because we didn't take a mirror.

We took, I took everything else.

I literally had, I thought I had everything and I thought, well I don't

know if people want to try things on.

I don't know.

I thought that, and you know, obviously they did.

So we would, you know, luckily the guy next to us was lovely and his

stand and he had one we used, but um, yeah, the feedback was great and

they just, it's really nice to meet people in real life and just talk to

people and, you know, some things.

Or does they come from?

They might and they haven't come from, and they might come later.

But you know, just meeting those people and having, you know, they've got that

awareness of you, um, is really great.

Especially, I think it is, it's, it's fantastic.

And especially when your brand currently is online as well.

Um, yes, so I think, and I know that you've got a great Instagram and as

you said, I've been on your Instagram.

I can see you've got some great styling tips and you're sharing a lot

of your, your outfits, but there's no substitute really is there for

actually seeing something in real life.

Yeah, totally, totally.

And I am the same.

I know, I, I still like seeing things in shops and things like that when I can.

Um, and that's what's really nice about, you know, partnering with, um,

smaller boutiques and things for the wholesale route because you, enables

your brand to get out there, um, in different parts of the country that

you wouldn't normally have there.

And, you know, we, we really want Fika to be in the right places and

I'm so happy with the, the brands.

The companies that we've partnered with so far because they have very similar kind of

ethos to what we are trying to get across.

You know, they're trying to reinvent the high street and change things and

you know, I think the more that we club together, they're kind of stronger

that will be and will make a change.

Yeah, definitely.

And is your plan just to sell wholesale or do you have other plans going forward?

Yeah, so we started with a wholesale route because, you know, to get

some more money coming from a cash point of view, it kind of made sense for us.

And again, getting that brand awareness, um, was really important.

We have gone on the back of anything that's, we ordered, we ordered a small

amount for our website, which is kind of currently being worked on, and G2

B, which is another whole complication process, but it's, um, yeah, due to

go live kind of hopefully beginning of next year, um, if not before.

So, yeah, we've kind of decided to do a little bit of both.

And also, I mean, I'm probably being a bit cautious, but I

quite like to take things slowly.

So, you know, just ensuring that our setup and our process I've built in

probably way too much time in terms of the production time and getting it here

and then getting it back out to our, our new stock is just making sure that,

you know, for this first run, keeping it quite small is quite a good thing for us.

Just making sure that our processes are completely as they need to be.

You know, and really want to be able to deliver well, what, what we've said we, we

were going to do, which, um, touch wood, at the moment it's still going to plan.

So, uh, it's exciting.

Really exciting.

That's amazing.

And I do see that then it probably does need to be so much thought

that goes into it because I mean, especially if you start, when you start

selling on your website, it's self ordering and fulfillment and storage

and yes, there's a lot, isn't there?

There is.

There is a lot.

And you know, we're a small team, you know.

Two designers, which are incredible.

And yeah, they do more than just, than designing.

They kind of help me with, they help me at the shows, they'll help me

back end when the stock comes in.

So, um, yeah, but it's still, you know, you think, oh gosh, before I

started, all three people, that's loads of people and loads of time.

But actually because you are right, there's so much to kind of think about

and do it every process, every point.

Um, It's a lot of hard work, but I do love it, so that's great.

Oh, it's good to know that you love it.

You have to do so much.

Yeah, that's part of the problem actually when I started, was

kind of changing, making sure that I had time to myself and time for the business.

Obviously the first sort of year or so has been quite intense.

I haven't really stopped, but more recently I've really tried

to, um, segregate my time better.

Manage my time better

it definitely sounds though like I'm not, I'm not saying

there's not any hard work to come, but it definitely sounds like you put in a lot

of work sort of prior to the launch, which hopefully has set you up really well now.

Yeah, I hope so.

Yeah.

Fingers crossed.

Well, thank you so much for all that you've shared Helen.

I have one final question, if that's okay?

Yeah, of course.

Um, and I ask if I ask, well I ask everyone a variation

of this question, not the question, um, but what is your number one

piece of advice be for anyone else looking to start a fashion brand?

I would say to understand the market and how it is changing

constantly and making sure that your brand is adaptable because fashion

is just, it's changing all the time and, um, the world is changing.

I think that you need to stay true to your brand as well, so you know,

whatever your thing is, make sure that you shout about it and that you stay

true to it throughout the process.

Even at times, if it's really hard and you know, have those, as I said before,

those core values and that strategy really clear in your head and in place.

And one of the, sorry, I'm giving you like five things here, but one of

the other things I would say is just ensure that you understand all the

elements of clothing manufacturing.

Beause there is so much that goes into it, you know, not only from a fit point

of view, but from a fabric point of view, from a technical fabric point of view.

Um, there's just so much that it's a, it is a complicated process, which I

think a lot of people don't realize.

Um, so just make sure that you are really clued up and you know, ready

to kind of take whatever comes.

Because it is hard, but it is, it is wonderful.

So, Yeah, that's my main piece, I think.

. Vicki Weinberg: Well, thank you.

No, that's really great advice, and I think you're right when I think, I've

only spoken to one other fashion brand on here a while ago, and I was a bit blown

away by having to think about seams and stitching and a lot of those things that

as a consumer, you just don't consider.

There's so many things you know, when I, I mean my design team

get it because they, they're the same but you know, we get excited about, you

know, what buttons we put, you know, new button shape we've got or a new

button finish or you know, the depth of a waist band or something like that.

So, um, yeah, there's a lot that goes into it, but if you're determined

enough, anyone can do anything.

So.

That's brilliant.

Thank you so much.

And as, what a lovely positive way to end.

Thank you so much Helen.

Oh no, thank you so much.

It's been lovely

I'm just.

Thank you so much for listening right to the end of this episode.

Do remember that you can get the full back catalogues and lots of free resources

on my website, vicki weinberg.com.

Please do remember to rate and review this episode if you've enjoyed it,

and also share it with a friend who you think might find it useful.