b'STATIONERY BIZTHE LAST WORDwith Kerri Middleton, founder of Busy BDescribe Busy B in one sentence. products. Getting our products intolook. Our mums really value great Cleverly crafted stationery full ofJohn Lewis seven years ago was aorganising tools that last, look great useful features and stylish details toreal milestone. When we reachedand that they can use for work or at help tame the mayhem of modern life.1m turnover a few years back it washome to juggle multiple lives and a real achievement. I never thoughtschedules. Our younger group values How did Busy B start, and howwed achieve that when I set out.being organised but wants more fun has it grown? Our rebrand to Busy B in 2012 wasand fashion-led accessories. They love I studied product design at Glasgowa highlight and represented a big stepstationery that reflects their personal School of Art and then worked forfor our growth. It put the brand instyle and that helps them manage an entrepreneurial boss in my firstfront of more customers through atheir increasingly hectic lifestyles in a job. It gave me the spark to tryvariety of independent, multiple andmodern, fast-paced world.taking a product to market myselfonline retailers in the UK. and I wanted those products to beAny exciting plans for the nextgenuinely useful. What has been your biggest12 months?Lakeland are a fantastic customer,challenge? We have lots of newness coming for and especially in the early days whenWe have faced LOADS of challenges,Autumn 2019 including our new they stocked lots of our clever newbut by learning from each one weve2020 diaries and calendars and a very survived and thrived. I love the quote:elegant and stylish Blush and Bloom Its not how far you fall, its how yourange focused around stationery get up that counts. for home organising. We are also There were a few times in the earlylaunching a vibrant younger range years when it would have been easierwith great new product formats and a to throw in the towel, from largemuch brighter, more playful look than orders being cancelled, to printingweve had before.mistakes resulting in product recalls, to having too much money tied up inHave you made any preparations stock and nothing left to trade with!for Brexit?Its a journey and there will alwaysWe have a workgroup within our be new challenges. The recession inteam looking at how we can prepare 2008 was particularly hard, and thesefor Brexit but without clarity yet on days the changing face of retail in thetrading arrangements with the EU its digital world and Brexit bring evendifficult to do much more than discuss more hurdles. The key thing is to facethe risks around additional costs the facts, be willing to adapt, andand delays of distributing to Europe. never give up! All we can do just now is try to arm ourselves with any knowledge we can Whos your core customer andget hold of and have contingency plans why do they love Busy B? in mind where possible. A no-deal Busy mums and busy working womenscenario would be very impactful, but are two of our biggest customer bases.we hope that if a deal is reached there They buy from Busy B because ofwould be a decent length of time laid the combination of clever features,down for companies to get grips with lovely quality and their beautifulnew procedures.74 SPRING//SUMMER 2019'