2019-06-01+Woman+and+Home

Kirstie(left)

andshelley

havea shared

passion

“Ourdressesare

for modern,

individual brides”

KirstieTaylor,49,andshelleyCarter-
Bright,49,bothliveinessexwith
theirfamilies.TheyrunKitty& Dulcie,
an online wedding dress retailer.

theidea
Wefirstmetin 2005whenourchildren
startedschooltogetherandweclicked
immediately.[Shelleywasa beauty
journalist,andkirstiewasrunninga
bridaltiarasandjewellerybusiness].
Afterthe 2008 recessionhit,wehad
theideatostartanonlinewedding
dressshopforbridesona budget.We
havecomplementaryskills– Shelleyis
organised,withcomputerskillsandmedia
contacts,whilekirstiehasthecreative
flairandbridalbusinessbackground–
soin 2011,welaunchedkitty& Dulcie,
namedafterourgrandmas,who
shared a passion for dressmaking.

makingithappen

Weeachmadeaninitialinvestmentof

£6,000andwepromisedwe’dmakeour

moneybackwithinfourmonths– which

wedid.A webdeveloperbuiltour

websitewhileweresearchedfactories

in Chinathatcouldmanufacturethe

dresses.Whenit cametodesigningthe

garmentsweknewthatnoteverybride

wantsa long,straplessgown.manyof

ourdressesareshort.Ourbridesare

fashion-forwardwomenwhowant

something modern, with a vintage twist.

Breakthroughmoment

Afterourwebsitewentlive,nothing

happenedonthefirstdayandthenwe

wenttolondontogetherforthenight

tocelebratethelaunch.justaswe

wereclinkingwineglasses,a sale

camein!It wasa brilliantmoment

becausea lotofpeoplethoughtit

wouldn’twork.Someofourfriends

arguedthateverybridewantsthe

experienceofspendinga day

in a bridalshop,butwe

believedthatnotevery

bride wants that fuss.

SteepeStlearningcurve

DealingwithChinesefactorieswas

trickyatfirst.There’sa language

barrierandculturaldifferences– we

hadtogetusedtoworkingwiththeir

holidays,astheyhavea verylongbreak

in january when nothing happens.

WhereWearenoW

Beingsolelyinternet-based,wedon’t

havetheoverheadsofotherbridal

companies,whichmeanswecanpass

onthosesavings– allofour

designsarebelow£396.

Whenwedesigna new

collection,we’lllook

forinspirationin

currentandvintage

magazines,onblogs

andInstagram,then

comebackwitha mood

board.Sooftenwe’llfind

we’vesourcedthesame

picture.We’reveryin tune.We

keepourstockin oursparebedrooms

• wehaveverytoleranthusbandswho
  havelearnedtolivearoundwedding
  dresses!Thebestbitis whenbrides
  senduspicturesofthemselveson
  theirweddingdayin theirkitty&
  Dulciedress– it’samazingtosee
  our designs brought to life.

Businessinfigures

start-upcosts:£7,900

Comprising...

Website£1,600

stock:£5,000

samples:£400

stationery:£400

Advertising:£500

Turnover:£40,000

Website: kittyanddulcie.com

Kitty& Dulcie

designsarean

affordable hit

Top Tip

sticktoa concrete

launchdate.it’snotuntil

you’resellingthatyou’ll

learnfromyourmistakes

andknowhowyou’re

going to progress.