NEW DIRECTIONS
Three women tell Fiona Wright how their passion for environmentally friendly, ethical products have given them successful businesses that give back ‘I make luxury bags from recycled fire hose and donate to The Fire Fighters Charity’
OUR BUSINESSES DO WELL BY DOING GOOD!
KRESSE WESLING MBE, 40, IS FOUNDER OF ELVIS & KRESSE, A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAKING LUXURY BAGS AND GOODS FROM DECOMMISSIONED FIRE
HOSE. SHE DONATES 50% OF HER PROFITS TO THE FIRE FIGHTERS CHARITY.
✢ THE IDEA
I HAVE A BACKGROUND IN FINANCE AND VENTURE CAPITAL, BUT I HAD A KEEN INTEREST IN SUSTAINABILITY AND
HAD LEFT TO SET UP A SMALL BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING COMPANY. I’D GONE ON AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COURSE TO IMPROVE THE IMPACT MY COMPANY HAD ON THE ENVIRONMENT. I MET OFFICERS FROM THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE, WHO WERE ALSO TAKING THE COURSE, AND GOT TALKING TO THEM. THEY MENTIONED THAT THE HOSES THEY USED GO TO LANDFILL BECAUSE OF THE NYLON CORE, SO WHEN THEY START TO LEAK, IT WENT TO LANDFILL. I WAS HORRIFIED AND ASKED IF I COULD GO AND HAVE A LOOK. THE HOSE IS SUCH A GORGEOUS RICH, RED COLOUR, AND IT’S INCREDIBLY TACTILE. I COULDN’T BELIEVE THESE HUGE, BEAUTIFUL COILS WOULD BE THROWN AWAY. I ASKED IF I COULD HAVE SOME, AND ENDED UP STAGGERING BACK HOME ON MY BIKE WITH 40 KILOS’ WORTH. MY NEXT CHALLENGE WAS WHAT TO DO WITH THEM. AT FIRST, I THOUGHT THEY WOULD MAKE FANTASTIC ROOF TILES, BUT I DISCOVERED WHEN THEY DRY OUT, THEY CRACK AND BREAK. I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH ON NICHE WASTE PRODUCTS, AND STUMBLED ON A REPORT WHICH SAID THAT VERY FEW HIGH-END LUXE COMPANIES ACHIEVE ETHICAL ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE TARGETS. THAT WAS MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT – GORGEOUS PRODUCTS MADE OF HOSE RUBBER. MY FIRST PRODUCT WAS A BELT THAT MY PARTNER, ELVIS, MADE OUT OF THE RUBBER WHEN HIS BROKE. HE BOUGHT A SEWING MACHINE, TAUGHT HIMSELF HOW TO SEW AND MADE ME A SIMPLE HANDBAG. FRIENDS AND FAMILY LOVED WHAT WE MADE. I KNEW IT WAS A WINNER.
✢ MAKING IT HAPPEN
I SKETCHED A FEW DESIGNS AND SET ABOUT TRYING TO FIND A FACTORY THAT WOULD MAKE WHAT I WANTED. WE TRIED ALL OVER EUROPE BUT NO ONE COULD DO IT, AND CERTAINLY NOT IN THE TINY NUMBERS THAT I NEEDED TO KICK-START THE BUSINESS. IN THE END, I MANAGED TO FIND A FAMILY-RUN FACTORY IN ROMANIA THAT COULD TURN THE HOSE INTO WORKABLE MATERIAL AND APPLY HIGH-END PRODUCTION VALUES TO MY DESIGNS. I LOVED THAT LOTS OF THE HOSE HAD SCUFFS AND LETTERING ON IT, WHICH GAVE IT PROVENANCE AND AN INDICATION THAT MY BAGS AND BELTS ONCE FOUGHT FIRES AND SAVED LIVES. I HAD THE BUCKLES AND STUDS MADE FROM BRASS, PEWTER OR STEEL, AND THE LININGS AND DUSTBAGS ARE MADE
FROM ORANGE RECYCLED PARACHUTE SILK, WHICH I FOUND ONLINE. I DID A SOCIAL
MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND MANAGED TO PRE-SELL ORDERS SIX MONTHS IN ADVANCE TO HIGH-END BOUTIQUES. WE BILLED OURSELVES AS A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AND
FULLY SUSTAINABLE COMPANY USING
SKILLED CRAFTSMEN, PAYING THEM WELL.
✢ HIGHS
WE’D BEGUN TO GET ATTENTION IN THE PRESS AND GARNER AWARDS, SUCH AS THE HSBC START-UP STARS GREEN AWARD, THE SHELL ENTREPRENEURIAL WOMAN OF THE FUTURE AND THE CARTIER WOMEN’S INITIATIVE AWARD. IN 2009, AMERICAN Vogue CALLED US AND ASKED FOR SAMPLES. I SAID NO BECAUSE WE DIDN’T HAVE A MARKETING
BUDGET, NOT REALLY UNDERSTANDING THE
FULL IMPACT OF WHAT BEING IN Vogue
WOULD MEAN. TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT, FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHER MARIO TESTINO ENDED UP SHOOTING CAMERON DIAZ IN ONE OF OUR BELTS AND PUTTING HER ON THE COVER. THE MAGAZINE BRANDED US “THE FUTURE OF LUXURY” AND AFTER THAT, EVERYTHING
WENT BONKERS AND OUR WEBSITE NEARLY CRASHED FROM THE NUMBER OF SALES. IN 2013, I WAS ASKED IF I WOULD ACCEPT AN MBE FOR SERVICES TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. MEETING THE QUEEN WAS AMAZING AND SHE ACTUALLY SAID THANK YOU FOR OUR WORK, WHICH REALLY TOUCHED ME.
✢ LOWS
IN 2010 THE ROMANIAN FACTORY WE USED WERE OFFERED A MORE LUCRATIVE CONTRACT AND, WITHOUT WARNING, JUST STOPPED PRODUCING OUR PRODUCTS. IT WAS VERY TOUGH. WE’D ALWAYS BEEN VERY FAIR AND LOYAL TO THEM BUT WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT NO MATTER WHAT YOUR VALUES AND MORALS ARE, NOT EVERYONE WILL SHARE THEM. OUR ALTERNATIVE WAS TO ACTUALLY BUY A FACTORY IN THE UK TO MANUFACTURE SO WE SOLD OUR FLAT TO DO THAT BUT THE DEAL FELL THROUGH AT THE LAST MINUTE. KEEPING THE BUSINESS GOING NEARLY KILLED US, BUT WE GRITTED OUR TEETH, FOUND A TEMPORARY SITE, MOVED IN WITH FRIENDS AND KEPT GOING.
✢ WHERE I AM NOW
WE NOW WORK OUT OF A STUNNING MILL IN KENT WITH A STAFF OF 12, WHICH WILL GROW TO 15 BY THE END OF THE YEAR. WE GIVE 50% OF OUR PROFITS TO THE FIRE FIGHTERS CHARITY. WE SELL THE MAJORITY OF OUR PRODUCTS THROUGH THE WEBSITE, WHICH IS MORE PROFITABLE
FOR US, BUT WE’RE STOCKED BY 18 RETAIL LUXURY OUTLETS AROUND THE WORLD.
TIP RESEARCH PROFIT MARGINS, COSTINGS AND LOGISTICS WHILE YOU’RE STILL EMPLOYED. IT’LL SAVE YOU TIME AND MONEY LATER. >>
“My bags and belts once fought fires and saved lives”