Good morning my wonderful CCT readers! I hope that you are all as fabulous as always and have had a very good start to the week!! It’s not only the last week of work in the office but my little brother arrives back in England tomorrow! He hasn’t been home for a year, so to say I am excited would be an understatement!
The whole family is making their way down to London tomorrow evening for the occasion and I can’t wait for everyone to be together! Tomorrow is just the start of what is to come over Christmas…
This week on CCT I am joined by Hey Joe’s co-founder Sara Lindley! Hey Joe is more than just a childrenswear brand! It features designs which are quirky, stylish and ALL made in Britain! So, let’s get to it and find out more about Sara and Hey Joe!
Sara thank you so much for joining us on today’s CCT! Can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background..
Good morning everyone! I am Sara Lindley and I look after every aspect of design and manufacture of Hey Joe, alongside a small and dedicated team who’re just as daft about producing our range as I am. I have worked with children for the last twenty years as well as having a fine art background. My partner has worked on other people’s brands for many years so we pooled our resources and decided to create our own brand, Hey Joe.
Sara sewing in her work room.
What inspired you to go in to fashion and in particular childrenswear?
British tailoring has long been a passion of ours. In fact it goes back two generations to our grandfather who was a Master Tailor in our home town of Nottingham. Having also worked with children for so long and finding them so inspiring we decided to apply the same timeless quality and style to boys and girls clothes. Why can’t children’s clothes be as beautifully designed, styled, cut and made as the very finest adult clothes? It’s a simple premise and one we strive to deliver against every day.
Photograph of Grandpa Hill in his work room.
I am so with you on that one! Just because it’s childrenswear doesn’t mean that it can’t be fab! Tell us about Hey Joe…
We are a small family run business who design and produce a range of stylish clothes for little people between the ages of 3 and 10 years old with an emphasis on ‘made and played in Britain’. We manufacture all of our clothes within a 50 mile radius of our base in Nottingham.
That’s great that you are able to do it so close to home…
Yah no it’s true and we have incredibly strong links with local factories and suppliers! That’s something we’re immensely proud of! I can’t imagine it any other way. We feel incredibly connected to every garment that we produce as we are involved every step of the way.
It must help you to feel more on top of everything! Tell us about the inspiration behind the collections…
We design our clothes to compliment the personalities of the children wearing them, rather than over power them. Our collections have a simple classic theme combined with modern quirky twists. We place a huge emphasis on using beautiful fabrics and combine this with subtle tailoring to ensure the clothes fit the children beautifully whilst allowing them to express themselves as only children can do!
Don’t they just! I love it when kids develop their own sense of style! Also, I understand you make ‘Hey Joe Films’ can you tell us a little bit more about this?
Our Hey Joe team have a passion for all things visual including photography and film. We think it is an incredible way of showing the personality behind a brand. The little Hey Joe models bring our clothes to life and every time we see them running around in the latest designs we still get really excited and proud. Our latest film ‘Party time’ was full of energy and fun and the children looked fantastic in our AW14 collection. Click the image to see the Hey Joe video!
I agree with you! I think that short film clips are a must as they’re exciting and help to create a buzz! I just watched your ‘Party Time’ film and I love it! It’s got me in the Christmas spirit! So tell us – what’s coming up for Hey Joe? Give us something to get excited about…
Every season gives us an opportunity to expand our vision and range. Having had so much success with our girls tailored jackets we have just completed the development of a boys tailored jacket. Also, as a result of receiving lots of requests from older children who love our clothes, we have decided to extend our size range to include 11-12 year olds. So keep a look out as the new size sets are in development now and should be available in the New Year.
That’s amazing news – congratulations! You must be busy busy preparing for the launch! I am so excited for you and I cannot wait to see the new pieces!
Sara – thank you so much for joining both myself and the CCT readers on today’s show! It’s been great having you and learning about Hey Joe! Please keep me updated on al Hey Joe news!
AND get in to the Christmas spirit by checking out Hey Joe’s ‘Party Time’ film by clicking on the link below:
http://heyjoeclothing.com/video/lets-party.asp
Join me next week for lots more chinwagging! Lots of <3 Kate xox
……….Oh and don’t forget to look out this week for the Hey Joe Advent Calendar Competition Competition where you can WIN a £50 gift voucher to spend online.
All images are courtsey of Hey Joe and must not be re-produced.
