Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Brand built on a dream shop gamble
FROM a very young age, fashion and Debbie Brash have gone hand-in-hand.
After a spell working for a high street fashion chain, she dreamed of running her own fashion business.
After many sleepless nights she decided to take the gamble and launched Tiger Lily Boutique in Broughty Ferry in 2011.
The mum of three has never looked back and now has a second shop in Aberdeen and is looking to expand further.
Debbie started her career in fashion working at Mango in Dundee’s Overgate Shopping Centre in 2008.
When the store closed down she stayed with the company as a visual merchandiser and travelling all over the UK but knew she was looking to do something different.
Debbie said: “I knew the job I was doing wasn’t going to last forever and I had to think about what I’d do in the future.
“I’d find myself in the middle of the night tossing and turning. I’ve always loved clothes and the different trends. I remember thinking I was going to do it. I wanted to open my own store.
“I decided to take the risk, make the jump and put my all in to it in the hope it works out.”
Debbie, who lives in Monifieth and is married to Kris, looked at various sites for the perfect location for her store.
Finding a unit in Broughty Ferry’s Brook Street, she invested £25,000 on opening her first Tiger Lily Boutique in 2011.
She said: “I looked around all the different areas and finally settled on the Ferry as it had that independent feel.
“I felt what I wanted to do would fit in better there rather than Dundee.”
For Debbie it was important for her to start growing her brand and she hit the ground running.
The former Monifieth High pupil said: “I worked six days a week. It was roll your sleeves up and put everything into it.”
After nearly four years in Broughty Ferry, Debbie made the decision to open
a store in Aberdeen – The Chapel Street Tiger Lily Boutique opened in October 2017 after a £40,000 investment.
Debbie, mum to Daley, 8, Kameron, 5, and three-year-old Harry, said: “It was an easy decision to open in Aberdeen.
“I noticed we’d get Aberdonians coming to our shop and said they wished there was something like this in Aberdeen.
“It’s been another great experience.” Tiger Lily Boutique celebrated success at last year’s Courier Business Awards being named independent retailer of the
year and also winner of the marketing and social category.
Debbie said: “It’s been an amazing journey. Sometimes I’ve got to pinch myself at how far we’ve come.”
Debbie is now looking to expand the business into other areas of Scotland.
Last year Tiger Lily ran a three-day pop up shop in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter.
Debbie said: “We keep trying hard and looking forward, thinking about what’s the next step we can take to make the business better for the customers.”