Designer Jade Holland Cooper
Jade, 31, set up her clothing brand Holland Cooper in 2008. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband.
AFTER school, I couldn’t decide whether to study fashion or agriculture — two very different degrees. But having grown up on a farm in Suffolk, in the end I went to the Royal Agriculture College in Cirencester.
I am so pleased I did, because if I hadn’t I might never have created Holland Cooper.
It was while at university, when I was going to all sorts of country shows, that I realised there was a gap in the market for stylish, beautifully made country clothing. We were all wearing the same thing.
That was my light-bulb moment. I left university in my second year and, at 21, created my own label. I designed a range of tweed clothing
Blazer, £399, hollandcooper.com from my mother’s old studio (she had her own fashion label) and started selling my collection at horse shows around the country.
It was tough. I was doing around 30 shows a year, travelling with a trailer on the back of my car. In the early stages, I pushed myself too hard.
Once, I drove from a show in Scotland to Norfolk overnight, then realised I wasn’t in any fit state to run the stand. I felt broken. It was a valuable lesson.
But doing the shows was a brilliant way to meet the customers and understand what they wanted. It also kept me developing new ideas, because I didn’t want to show people the same designs.
I still get a real buzz from selling. Early on, my father said that there are lots of people in fashion and lots of people in business — if you can do both, you’re on to a winner. He was right. I love setting targets and watching the business grow.
Last year we opened a franchise in Bicester Village, and we have a flagship store in Edinburgh.
I’m proud that Holland Cooper is now the leading UK buyer of British tweed: it is wonderfully versatile to work with. You think of it as a scratchy check, but there are cashmere or merino blends. It really can be lightweight and beautiful.
Of course, there were times when I felt lonely. When I started out, all my friends were at university getting drunk. Yes, I missed parties — but now I can host them.
My only regret is that I didn’t start it even younger.