Motherhood is often the catalyst for a big career change. It’s the life stage that sparks a new, sometimes unexpected chapter. Sisters Imogen Driver and Leonie Taibi dived into the world of entrepreneurship after they became mothers. Imogen had previously worked as a buyer for brands such as Liberty, Ralph Lauren and M&S. Leonie worked as a stone mason and quantity surveyor. Creativity was in the genes...
In the beginning, fashion and lifestyle brand Little Cotton Clothes was very much a side hustle which the pair juggled, while also working fulltime. “We had never discussed starting a business together. It came about one day when we were chatting to each other about not being able to find lovely clothing for our children. I had plenty of contacts from work, so we decided to give it a go. We never thought it could turn into something that would allow us to leave our careers, though that was always the dream. Today we are so grateful to be able to do something that we love whilst being able to pick our children up from school and spend more time with them,” says Imogen.
Inspired by their childhood in the English countryside, Little Cotton Clothes was founded with a clear vision in mind: simple, beautiful, traditional clothes that mothers and children will not only adore, but be able to afford. There’s a selection of beautiful dresses and separates for both mother and child, and also heavenly accessories from woven basket bags to velvet bows. Each item is designed by the founders in England, and handmade in small factories in India and Portugal. Sustainability is always front of mind – clothes are made from natural fabrics and any waste fabric is donated to a charity in India, who recycle it to make clothes for families in need.
Why Childrenswear? “We landed on childrenswear as we couldn’t find clothing that we loved for our children,” says Leonie. “We had always loved hunting for antique and vintage clothing for our children so it seemed like the perfect fit for us, we felt like we could offer something that was difficult to find. A few seasons on we then thought it would be nice to offer a selection of womenswear too in the same prints.”
One of the biggest hurdle founders face when launching a business from scratch is often just getting started – overwhelm kicks in and slows us down. It’s why so many founders advise starting small, which is exactly what this duo did. “Minimums are a big issue for small businesses. We were very lucky to have the help of a friend in India who enabled us to make tiny numbers of our first collection. We still work with her now. If it hadn’t been for her, I don’t think we’d be here now,” says Imogen.
Here, we quiz the talented founders on everything you need to know about turning a side hustle into your career – my girls Arabella and Lottie also road-tested some beautiful pieces in Italy over the holidays…
On time management…
Leonie: It’s very hard to stop when you have your own business, and you want to give the very best customer service and experience to your customers. We try to be strict with ourselves about only working during school hours and then where we can, allowing some things to wait for the following day.
On navigating product development...
Imogen: We knew we had a fantastic factory to help us from the start, thanks to the help of our friend, and they still make the majority of our collections today. A lot of the process was trial and error, but you learn from every mistake and hiccup and that’s part of the journey. I’m sure any other business learns and evolves in this way.
On launching a business…
Leonie: We would recommend joining forces with someone you trust. It is more fun working together on a business, and you can share the load of decisions and stresses too. If we had started this alone, we might not have come as far as we have.
On the new spring/summer 2023 collection…
Leonie: Our collections are always inspired by nostalgia and nature. We choose and design florals that we love and colours that are pretty but muted. Nearly all of our fabrics are organic cotton, and we only use non-organic when we aren’t able to reach the higher minimums required for organic. We mixed broderie anglaise, hand smocking and pretty florals to make a beautiful vintage inspired collection.
On going into business with your sister…
Imogen: We love that it means our whole family is involved – our nieces are models, our mum packs our orders and even dad gets roped into sticking on labels when needed.
3 things we should buy from Little Cotton Clothes right now…
Imogen: That’s a hard one, probably a floral tutu, a floral jersey pointelle dress and a big market basket.
