LIFESTYLE REBOOT
Jessica Mason, founder of bedding and loungewear brand Piglet, on starting small, structuring work around dog walks and splitting her day between two continents
Jessica Mason on how her life and business have changed in the last year
after six years in PR, Jessica Mason decided to launch Piglet in January 2017 after believing there was a market for sustainable bed linen. Today, Piglet’s collections also include table linen and sleepwear and has gained a cult following in the UK and abroad. Jessica lives with her fiancé Patrick and Portuguese Water Dog Henry, and splits her time between West Sussex and Illinois, where Piglet recently opened its American HQ.
How has your work and life changed in the last year?
I have been in Illinois so one of the biggest changes has been the geographic distance between me, my friends, family and team. I have tried to maximise the time I am available to our teams on both sides of the Atlantic, which usually means starting work around 4am.
What are the biggest changes you have had to make to your business?
Bedding and sleepwear have grown fast so we’ve had to scale up our team. We were a team of about 12 and now we are 30 and adding new people every month.
If someone was starting a similar business to yours now, what would be your advice?
Start small and let it grow gradually so you can get to know your customers well. When we started Piglet we packed orders from my mum’s shed and lugged packages to the post office every day. I wouldn’t trade those early days for anything.
What inspires your work?
Moving from London to my mum’s house in West Sussex to save money when I started has ended up playing a big role in the brand. The colours of the British countryside continue to be a main source of inspiration.
How did you adapt to working from home?
It hasn’t always been easy. But getting Henry at the start of the pandemic definitely helped create some structure to the day around dog walks. Without him, I might never look up from my screen!
Any new interests as a result of lockdown?
We moved into a rundown house in Illinois right before the pandemic. It needed quite a lot of work and because of Covid we ended up doing all of it ourselves. The work is a lot scruffier than if we’d had professional help but we love the house.
What three stores do you rely on the most?
I live in activewear so my personal go-to is Outdoor Voices, a Us-based, female-founded company. For skincare, I love The Ordinary. And because of our love/hate relationship with DIY, (US store) Home Depot.
What is the biggest business lesson you’ve learnt in the past year?
Be prepared for the unexpected. For this, flexibility and adaptability are everything.
Start your business small and let it grow gradually so you can get to know customers