‘Crowdfunding allowed my hair company to grow’
JAYNE RUTLAND, 52, is married and lives in London. She is founder of hairy Jayne, a company that makes handmade organic shampoo and other products for dry hair.
✢ THE IDEA
i spent a few unhappy years as a graphic designer and wanted something more hands-on. i decided to try hairdressing. i trained for three years, working with trevor sorbie and his team, and loved it. i worked in salons for about 10 years before going freelance. i discovered argan oil on holiday in Morocco, and loved how it made my hair feel. i then went on a course on how to make shampoo and that was the moment i knew i wanted to create my own products. i used natural essential oils to make shampoos for dry hair, which a lot of my customers seem to have. and they loved it so i knew i had a great idea.
✢ MAKING IT HAPPEN
i had to raise the funds to get all my recipes tested to be able to sell them legally. under the eu directive, you have to have everything signed off by a cosmetic chemist so i needed to get about £3,000 together to get started. My husband works in branding and is great at making short films, so we put together a video for a crowdfunding campaign. i used the crowdfunding site indiegogo, and after a very nerve-wracking few weeks i managed to raise all of the money.
✢ BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT
i pitched to liberty as part of their open Call for british makers. they didn’t take any stock in the end as they said it was a bit early but to get positive feedback from them gave me the confidence to keep going.
✢ STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE
trying to get into retail has been tricky. Pitching does not come naturally to me so i’m still battling with that. last year i had an unusually large order right before Christmas that really kept me on my toes, as all of my products are handmade, and i made the deadlines by the skin of my teeth.
✢ WHERE I AM NOW
i have 20 products and plan to develop more, selling mainly through my website and notonthehighstreet.com. i want to become a completely vegan brand. once i have approval from the vegan society, i’ll have a redesign. i’d like to sell globally, although i won’t be able to sell in China as they insist on testing on animals.