This weeks interview is with Sophie from overnight sensation brand Pantyhoez. From having a low key idea of putting memes on knickers to having a full spread in Dazed and Fader in 12 months, I talk to Sophie about when we both moved to and hated Bristol, Amber Rose and whats next for pantyhoez.
Charlotte: I always like to ask how we met and know each other, this interview section is really for me about lifting up other people, specifically women who have started their own businesses, and it really struck me just how many women I have in my network who have done this. We met on twitter dot com through some mutual friends and I remember you and me had both come to Bristol from London the same sort of time, and were really unhappy so we had this thing in common. Can you remember anything about how me met, and how important is social media for you for friendships, and now your business?
Sophie: I graduated from Bristol last summer and my experience at university was far from enjoyable although I was so lucky to meet some wonderful people there; including the other half of pantyhoe$ Liza. One escape I had from my Bristol life was using social media, it was a good outlet for my feelings of frustration and disappointment. I remember you reaching out to me and talking me through lots of things which was so so lovely, thank you! Social Media is imperative for our business, people find out about us from our instagram and tumblr, as well as us and our friends posting on their personal facebooks and twitters! Also loads of our inspirations are taken from social media, I check instagram soo many times a day. I feel the same! All the girls I know are doing the absolute most, I am so inspired by all the strong, creative, hardworking females I am surrounded by.
Charlotte: How did pantyhoez come about?
Sophie: Haha I cant remember exactly, at some point in a discussion about our love of internet related novelty goods, and I had the thought for our first pair of pants the "Benz Punani" (photo courtesy of Kelechi Okafor) was seeing a woman with a Benz Punani tattooed on her Punani accompanied with a mercedez benz sign. Goals, haha.
Charlotte: I am so impressed and proud (like I always am of twitter fam) that pantyhoez has got this amazing recognition, I remember seeing your pieces on twitter and insta and you getting (rightfully) a lot of and then all of a sudden you were in dazed which is incredible. However, knowing (from personal experience) more exposure means more orders and more work which can be really overwhelming for a new business, has there been anything you were not expecting or really challenging for you?
Sophie: Going into this, neither myself or my business partner had run a business before, so everything is a surprise, there are so many more things to think about that I would have ever imagined. But I feel really fortunate to be learning all these things and overcoming all the obstacles at such a young age. Getting featured in both fader and dazed was insane, and dealing with the number of orders was pretty hard for the two of us to manage, I have a 9-5 and my partner Liza is training to be a doctor.
Photographer: Sirius Film, Model: Pippa Melody
Charlotte: I often get an idea and don't roll it out for ages because I am either too busy/too scared or not confident enough and then I miss the train. How do you get inspired? You seem so switched on and on the ball, hitting these cultural references so quickly and getting your product and photoshoots out!
Sophie: I feel like with pantyhoe$ I've really just put myself out there, which is something that I really haven't done before. Now it's out there I just wanna ensure that its the best that it can be! I do all the creative direction for our shoots myself, as its something that I just adore doing
Photographer: Sirius Film, Model: Pippa Melody
Charlotte: What is the dream for pantyhoez? without this sounding like a cheese interview question but what do you see in the future or rather what would you like to achieve in the near future?
Sophie: Well in the immediate future we are rolling out birthday card (next week) and swimwear (ready in time for summer), which I am sooo excited about!! Its so much more to learn, but I'm enjoying it. I'm going to Brasil in May to shoot the swimwear campaign in partnership with some pretty cool people so I'm excited about that. And in September our collab with London based embroidery designer Haniko will be released. And after that there's soo many other things that I would love to design!
Picture Courtesy of @Nadineartois
Charlotte: Is there anyone you would love to see wearing some pantyhoez?
Sophie: I would LOVE to see Amber Rose in a pair! Maybe her pair or any of the others, she's an inspiration
_______________________
Thanks so much Sophie for letting me interview you! If you would like to be interviewed in our new weekly Small Business Interview blog email me at blackheartcreatives@gmail.com
You can follow Pantyhoez on the links below, and also visit their store
No comments:
Post a Comment