Entrepreneur puts her Brave Pants on
Fledgling business gets off to a good ride
AFoxton business is a finalist in the Electra business awards with a new brand that is as much state of mind as it is a line of clothing. Rose Cruden, 31, only started designing and selling the Brave Pants in December last year.
In that short time it has become a recognised brand within equestrian circles with a range of apparel covering both active performance clothing and casual wear.
Cruden only trademarked her Brave Pants design label in July last year.
It came from the often used phrase “put your brave pants on”, a positive affirmation used to help overcome apprehension when horse riding, or facing any fear for that matter.
She had also trademarked the Bravemen for a men’s range in case the brand was a success.
“I was surprised it hadn’t been trademarked already,” she said.
Cruden put in countless hours of research and design into the clothing range to make sure all products were of high quality and fit for purpose, inviting those that ride horses for feedback through the design process.
“I didn’t want it to be just a cool name. We thought about all the performance details, physical and mental,” she said.
Our slogan “Be your Brave” acknowledges that everyone is at different physical and mental levels and it’s about overcoming your individual obstacles and not comparing them to others.
For example, jodhpurs could traditionally be heavy and restrictive and Cruden worked hard to find the perfect GMS ratio between movement a durability.
Once confident in her clothing designs she took a leap of faith in contracting manufacturing to a company in China with a $10,000 purchase order for a line of pants.
Limited initially to 200 pairs of only two colours, they sold out online in three weeks.
“We wanted to see how far we could go with $10,000.”
Now with more than $250,000 worth of stock on hand, the opportunity to grow internationally has become a reality.
After securing her first Australian stockist in July of this year, she said: “It’s exciting to see the brand overseas”.
She admitted the level of investment was “a bit scary” at first, but couldn’t have been happier with the quality of product when it arrived, giving her the confidence to take the entire range to market, which included a range of jodhpurs, jerseys, shirts, and support gear too.
“I believe in the integrity of these garments. It wouldn’t have taken off so well if it wasn’t good quality,” she said.
Cruden was able to fall back on her education as a physical education teacher through the design process, and a healthy dose of energy saw it through from concept to market.
“If you don’t have time to say no, you say yes, and it allows you keep on a creative pathway,” she said.
All clothing featured the brand logo of a warrior figurine.
One point of difference she was proud of was the packaging of the orders, custom designing a box that came with each clothing item.
“I would like to think it has contributed to the success. I wanted it to be part of the experience,” she said.
Cruden donates 10 per cent of their profits to sponsoring local and national equestrian shows as an opportunity to invest in the sport and the community competing in it.
“We have an opportunity now to take on more staff,” she said.
Cruden herself fell in love with horses at the age of 13 and was told it would just be a phase.
“It’s still a phase,” she said, laughing. She is also a qualified English and PE teacher who currently works parttime at Manawatu¯ College teaching Social Science and Physical Education.