Hi Madelaine, can you tell us about yourself and what inspired you to set up your business?
Hi, I’m Madelaine, I’m a mother of two boys and wife to Henry. We live in rural Northumberland on a family farm just outside Morpeth.
After having my first son, Alfie, I loved being a Mum so I wanted to stay at home, but felt that I wanted to do something more as I had so many ideas and love to work with people. Henry and I were married straight after University and we started our family shortly after that. This was wonderful but I missed all of my friends and the social interaction of being with them – our farm is in the middle of nowhere and I was beginning to feel a bit isolated.
That was when I came up with the idea of running my own business from home. This would be perfect as I could be here for Alfie and help Henry with the farm, but do something for me too that would challenge me and put my mind to work. But first I had to come up with an idea for my business. Henry bought Alfie a baking set that included an apron. The quality of the apron was really poor and it wasn’t a very interesting design – I thought I could do something much better, and that was how the idea of Pinny Princess came about. My Grandma has always been a sewer and we had her beautiful old sewing machine, which my Mum also used and which was passed down to me. It is a ‘New Home’ sewing machine, made of enamel and it is beautiful but built like a tank, it just keeps on going and has worked for three generations of women in our family. This would be the workhorse of the business for me when I set up Pinny Princess.
Pinny Princess has gone from strength to strength. I still work from the heart of our family home and have developed a great network of people that I work with to deliver the best possible garments for our wonderful customers. I can’t thank our customers enough, I’m still blown away how people from London, Nottingham and even overseas from Australia, Canada, Ireland and Dubai find Pinny Princess and love our garments. I am eternally grateful to them – without them I would have no business.
What tips would you give other women who are thinking about setting up their own business?
Developing a consistent, unique and strong brand is so important. People need to have a brand and idea that they can buy into and identify with, so when developing your brand it’s really important to think about and know your customers and what they like and trust.
Always be yourself and be honest and build a good rapport with your customers. I know and appreciate that without them Pinny Princess would never have been a success. Taking care of your customers is so important, from your first conversation with them, to how you package and send them their special garments and then the after care if they’ve got any queries. I love chatting with people on instagram and facebook and it’s brilliant when people share their photos of their Pinny Princess pillowcases, all-in-ones and other items – sharing is caring.
Your handcrafted linen and baby clothing items are beautiful and your instagram account is fantastic, you have such great interaction with your customers and with other businesses too – what are the benefits of the internet for your business?
I wouldn’t have a business without the internet. I am still a Mum with two small boys to look after so being able to work from home is essential – I can’t take full days out or more to travel to fairs and events. Working from home and using the internet is perfect for our family.
I love how I can have instant interaction with my customers thanks to the internet and I love that I can respond to customer orders and queries so quickly on-line. Running a business on-line also reduces the risk for me – I can produce to order rather than having a lot of stock in a shop or prepared for an event that I may not then be able to sell.
What are your future plans for Pinny Princess?
I have great plans for Pinny Princess – I’m not ambitious in terms of material wealth but I am ambitious for the Pinny Princess brand and our product range. I would love to build a really successful business on a much bigger scale, continuing to produce items that people love and value. I have so many ideas and am looking at ways to expand the business at home, building additional space so that potentially I can employ people to help me grow Pinny Princess. I’m really excited for the future for Pinny Princess and can’t wait to share my new product ranges with our customers.
Photographs by Rachel of RJM Photography.
Name of interviewee: Madelaine Rossi Ryle
Business name: Pinny Princess
Website: www.pinnyprincess.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PinnyPrincess
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Pinny_Princess
Business type: Handcrafted linen, baby clothing and nursery items
Location: Morpeth, Northumberland