My wife, Lucy, and I had a new baby boy, born in a very hot July in a birthing pool in our front room. I was working at a builders merchant selling wood and cement to men with bums that showed when they bent over, and Lucy was on maternity from her sales job selling drugs to doctors.
We had a new baby, secure jobs, 2 cats, a big mortgage, and an ageing goldfish called Alfie. We were….grown ups! (Gulp)
And then it happened….Mrs. J had a brainwave.
Now, at this stage, I’d love to tell you that it was a dramatic moment. The dark clouds parted to reveal a dazzling blue sky, birds took to the wing and sang to celebrate, crowds gathered to pay homage at our door but, alas, it was somewhat more subdued.
A sleep-deprived, new mum and breastfeeding Lucy, at about 3.am, turned to me and asked that most loaded of questions, “Are you awake?” I was trapped. “Yes” I mumbled. Of course that was the green light to enthusiastically share the epiphany.
“I’ve had an idea! You know we can never find any clothes that fit over Tom’s cloth nappy? (There was no pause for me to reply) Well, why don’t we design some and get them manufactured. No-one else is doing it. We would have to use organic cotton and ethical manufacturers of course and be the most brilliant company ever.”
Well, I agreed it was the best idea ever. I metaphorically patted her on the head and said, “There there darling, don’t worry your pretty little head about it” and turned over and went back to sleep.
The next few weeks were a frenzy of activity. It would seem that every time I returned from the land of dodgy plasterers and brickies with spurs on their boots, another little piece of the jigsaw was complete.
And so it came to pass that on 1st June 2004 Cut4Cloth was born. We had cashed in our savings, re-mortgaged the house and we had both quit our jobs. Our son, Alfie, the fish and the cats were blissfully unaware of the gamble we had just taken with their future. Lucy and I were rabbits in the headlights!
Fast forward nearly 8 years and a lot has changed. For a start we are now called Frugi and we operate from a custom built office and warehouse facility, instead of our spare bedroom and we have a great transactional trade website www.frugiwholesale.com
We now sell to nearly 500 independent retailers in 46 countries. Our ranges go from newborn to eight years, and we have a fantastic nursing wear collection called Frugi Mother. This year, we were voted by the readers of Childrenswear buyer as the 3rd best selling childrenswear brand. Of the top 3 we are the only UK-based brand and the only one specialising in ethical organic cotton clothes. (Can you tell we’re pretty chuffed)
We’ve all grown up a bit. It feels like, as a brand, we’ve been to pre-school, and now we’re in Primary learning all the time and just on the verge of going to ‘big school’. It’s exciting and a little scary. What will the future hold? What will we look like?
So, what have we learnt so far?
· Always, always go with your gut feelings. This could relate to design, finance, advice or staff. If you think it’s the right thing to do then it, probably, is.
· Customer service is king. Bad news travels 8 x as fast as good news. Do everything you can to make your customers happy.
· Measure everything you can. How many new customers each month, how close to target you are etc. if you don’t measure you don’t know if you’re doing well, averagely or if you need a kick up the backside!
· Read inspirational books – why re-invent the wheel. Lots of people have done amazing things, so learn from them.
It feels like Frugi is now, firmly, on the radar. We are growing at 40% a year. It’s an exciting time to be a Frugi retailer. Here’s to the future…and the next late night flash of inspiration from my wife…GULP J
Kurt Jewson
Co-Founder
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