Two girls wearing Selfie Clothing tops
Career

Mums in Business featuring Selfie Clothing

This week on my Mums in Business series I am delighted to be interviewing Gemma who set up Selfie Clothing a couple of years ago. Since then the business has gone from strength to strength appearing in Not On The High Street and Liberty of London. Selfie Clothing is range of colour-in t-shirts, capes and pyjamas for children, all of which have been inspired by her own children and their desire for arts and crafts. To find out more about Gemma’s inspiring story and how she manages to balance family life and the business then read on.

Tell me a little bit about you, your background and Selfie Clothing?

I am a mum of two boys; Theo who is 7 years old and Casper who is 4. After having both boys I went straight back to work after six weeks as my husband and I have a marketing agency. Over the past few years the business has grown, and so did our team, which allowed me to take a step back from the agency and concentrate on being a mum.
Spending more time with the kids highlighted to me that being a parent we really have to encourage and praise self-esteem. I also noticed how much fun the kids have when they are let loose with art and craft materials, but more so, how the complete masterpiece enhances their pride.
Selfie Clothing Logo
I wanted a product that extended that feeling of pride even further and what better way than to let the kids actually wear their master-piece! Although there is a place for ‘messy play,’ I wanted my craft idea to have a ‘wow factor’ result but be relatively mess-free. Soon I realised and found that the idea of colouring your own top using fabric pens ticked this box perfectly.

What were your drivers and motivations for setting up Selfie Clothing?

My kids – I wanted to make something for them! Even now, a year down the line they still love to make their own tops – they even come up with their own ideas for Selfie Clothing! ‘Yummy’ was their latest idea, which is now in production and we are also developing a ’Sports Stars’ theme top too.

Getting Creative with Selfie Clothing

How do you balance the business around family and childcare?

It’s very very hard. My saving grace is that the kids love Selfie Clothing and they are very proud of me, especially when they see me selling the brand on QVC. I’m lucky that the kids have grandparents who live locally and adore spending time with the boys. We also go on holidays, and enjoy many weekends away to make sure that we have family time. The boys realise that we can’t do the fun stuff unless mummy and daddy work hard! Having said that I always drop them off at school, rarely work at weekends and pick them up from school at least half the time

Since setting up Selfie Clothing what’s been your biggest success to date? 

We have been working on Selfie Clothing for just under two years and it was a slow start, with many actions learnt along the way. The business really took off after our first trade show at the 2017 Autumn Fair, and since then we have had to pinch ourselves each month! Our biggest successes to date include being featured in the NOTHS catalogue, launching in Liberty London, airing on QVC and designing a bespoke range for Centre Parcs.

What’s your top tip for anyone who is thinking about setting up their own business?

Consider the ‘Best’ case scenario and make sure you know how to fund, manage and staff your business!

Boy Wearing Selfie Clothing

You can find out more about Selfie Clothing and view their beautiful range of products on the website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Thank you so much Gemma for taking part in my series, it was lovely to interview you, and I wish you the best of luck in the future.

If you would like to be part of my Mums in Business then just drop me an email: thepramshedblog@gmail.com. Or have a nose at some of the other businesses I have featured in my series: Sweet Hearts Hair DesignLivvy and Rose, and Happity. 

Claire x

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