A head for business … and fashion
Fashion columnist Siobhan Maroney heads to Sevenoaks to meet the creators of hats and accessories brand Amelia Jane
Hello you lovely lot!
I hope you are all having an epic start to 2019. Where is this year going already? I’ve well and truly got a Spring in my step and looking forward to curating a new Spring/Summer wardrobe. I’ve just come back from the London and Milan Fashion Weeks, where I saw so much innovation when it came to street style - mostly from my ever-so-hard-working and fabulous blogger pals.
Taking of hard-working blogger pals, I want to introduce to you Olivia and Alice, a.k.a creators and owners of Amelia Jane.
They are Kent-based gals that not only rock when it comes to blogging - their style is to die for - but also run their own accessories and clothing brand.
They are actually super women and oh so lovely with it, too. I’ve known Olivia and Alice for quite a while now and I thought it was about time you got to know them, too!
So, I popped myself over to their studio in Kent to talk all about them, their brand and the fashion world.
Hi guys, tell us a little about yourselves!
Hi ‘cene magazine, thank you so much for having us!
We are sisters from Kent with fashion brand Amelia Jane, which we run together alongside our fashion blog Olivia and Alice.
So why have you kept your business in Kent?
We were born and raised in Kent, and our family has always lived in the Sevenoaks area, settling 18 years ago in Hildenborough. We love the area for its beautiful countryside and its proximity to London - we are always in town for work so its super convenient.
Growing up in Kent, we have a few favourite spots from our childhood. Our parents used to take us fishing in Eynsford by the river so that always brings back great memories as it’s such a pretty village. Another favourite is Knole Park in Sevenoaks, we never get over the magic of the deer roaming in the park, if you haven’t been we would absolutely recommend, especially at Christmas time!
Where did your passion for fashion start?
Growing up, we were always interested in fashion and styling, putting looks together and keeping up with trends, however, we never considered it a possible career until we fell in to selling some self-designed bobble hats at a local village fair.
The demand for the hats took off, such that Olivia left her London job to pursue the running of the brand, and Alice joined straight after finishing her degree.
The blogging came later, as people seemed to be interested in the fashion events we were attending with the brand and the outfits we would wear to them.
Tell us about the beginning of Amelia Jane…
Amelia Jane began in 2014, starting out with just a few pom-pom hats, but grew quickly as the demand for the product took off more than we had anticipated.
Customers were soon asking whether we did the matching scarves and gloves etc.
it was a steep learning curve, because we were still selling purely by word of mouth and via our Facebook page at this point. Once we had sold enough hats to afford an entry-level website we got to work.
From there customers were able to shop our products online with ease.
What was the next step?
From packing 14 hours-a-day in our parent’s house, we moved the products to a fulfilment centre in 2015, which meant we could focus on running the business rather than packing orders.
Social Media also played a huge part in the online presence of the brand and we worked with bloggers/influencers from day one, gifting products in exchange for photos.
Fast forward a couple of years and we have been lucky enough to have been seen on the likes of Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne and other celebrity/social influencers which has really been key in the growth of the brand.
What is the future for Amelia Jane?
The future for Amelia Jane includes broadening our product range, we are launching a summer collection of accessories soon and are very excited about it!
You can find us online at www.ameliajanelondon.com, we are also sold on SilkFred and Lux Fix online, and have approximately 200 stockist across the UK, Europe, the US, Asia and Australia!
Be sure to check out the girls instagram, too, @oliviaandalice_ …. I swear you’ll have to try so hard to resist the urge to buy everything they wear.
As always, I would absolutely love to hear from you, pop me a mail at siobhan@justauniorm.com or find me on Instagram @justauniform.
Until next time!
BIG LOVE
Siobhan