An update

Hi Everyone!

A slightly different email today but I wanted to just update everyone on the new pieces that ‘should’ have been released yesterday.  Firstly, I want to thank everyone for sticking around this year.  I haven’t managed to add as much online stock as I had planned to and as a result the website is a bit sparse and in dire need of some new designs.  

For anyone who doesn’t know, I run this business all by myself, hand dyeing, sewing, photographing etc. I also run my weekly Sunday stall at Spitalfields market in London and this year has been particularly challenging balancing my time between online and in person selling.  I’ve been at Spitalfields for around 15 years now, weathering the Pandemic and just about surviving!  However, buying habits really changed from 2020 over the pandemic years, which was fine, I switched up to selling mainly basics from the stall, tshirts, sweatshirts etc.(This was also reflected online)  Mainly moving away from my hand-sewn designs, and using my organic cotton manufactured blanks.  

Last year again, I found buying habits switching, this was really the first year after the pandemic that Spitalfields really felt a shift.  The t-shirts weren’t selling as well as they had been (and I still had quite a lot of stock), footfall in the market was down and overall in person selling was just very quiet!  And this wasn’t just me, the feeling was mutual amongst other stall holders and businesses that I know! I’m not really sure why this was, but like many small businesses I did feel a bit despondent about it.  I had actually almost made my mind up about leaving Spitalfields, I started sorting out storage, emptying unnecessary items etc.

I decided to stick it out until the end of the year and then in the new year take an overview.  January and February at the market are always a bit different to my usual schedule. I take a bit of time off depending on the weather and other factors.  In February I felt a little better, a bit more determined and ready to give it another chance.  But with some changes.  I stripped back the in person Spitalfields business with the idea of almost starting from fresh.  Rather than investing a lot of money up front (at the market) I was going to take it week-by-week, only spending what I could afford from the previous week's takings.  I shifted back to my original hand-sewn designs, testing the waters gently and building up stock bit by bit. 

 A massive shift was in my attitude, rather than relying on the market for my income I saw it as a one or two day enterprise, meaning that I also didn’t need to make as much each week to cover my wages.  And honestly, since February, I have seen such a massive change in how I experience Spitalfields as well as Loulabelle Couture.  I am enjoying it again and the stall is now filled with my hand-sewn designs, just like it was before the Pandemic.  My takings at the market are also up which is wonderful, naturally some weeks are better than others but it’s easier to have perspective on the slower days when the previous week's takings were good.  I feel my relationship and understanding of my garments is also more focussed.  I introduced a new garment shape, ‘Persephone’, alongside the colourway ‘Greenshade’ and they were immediately popular, which spurred me on and encouraged me to keep moving forward. 

All that to say whilst I have been concentrating on Spitalfields, I have neglected the online part of my business.  I’ve had so many ideas but not the time to implement them.  And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the long term of Loulabelle Couture.  By building up my Spitalfields stock I won’t be working so much week to week and can allocate my time elsewhere in the future.  As trading at the markets is quite expensive (at the moment rent is £85 and storage £20 per week) this has been a priority.   

Now as to my website, I am so sorry about the lack of new pieces. As a slow fashion business my aim is not to keep up with fast fashion, however I did intend to update the website monthly!  This has just not been possible this year.  Part one of my new collection ‘The manor on the moors’ is still in progress, making the initial batch is almost done but I just haven’t had the capacity to photograph it.  So as of now, it’s coming soon but I don’t want to give an exact date until it is ready and photographed!  I appreciate all the regulars who have stuck around alongside any newcomers who have joined for the ride.  The handmade nature of my pieces may not be conventional (and certainly don’t upscale the business well) but as long as I can afford it I want to make handmade pieces at accessible prices.

In the meantime I have added some new stock from other small businesses that complement my designs and I have lots of previous releases in stock.

I will be adding my new colourway ‘Fallen Fruits’ online with a few different garments, as well as some other extra gifts and accessories.

Next Years Plans 

I am looking forward to next year and have started slowly getting some designs ready for the new year.  I will be spending January and February getting new pieces ready for release, making sure the amount I release is sustainable to me!  My aim is to be a bit more regular with my releases and keep the website more updated.  I have some fun ideas which I hope will translate well to you as customers.  If you don’t follow me on Instagram this is a great way to keep updated - I update stories fairly regularly.

I look forward to finally releasing my new designs, as well as stocking some other brands pieces that really speak to me.  Any suggestions for brands you would like to see stocked are welcome.  

Thank you so much for reading, I hope this insight may have been somewhat interesting!

Lou

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