While running her boutique Twigs & Blossoms, retailer Liz Shrimski developed her own kids’ craft kit range, Little Designers & Co, which quickly turned into a fulltime job.
The first product Shrimski developed was a Paris-themed colouring in tote bag that she sold in-store. “We ran girls’ high tea birthday parties and were progressing into design parties, so I wanted a great product that was unique to us,” she says.
“As we were limited with the times and number of parties we could do (because we were primarily a retail store) I wanted the product to be adaptable for at home parties, easy to execute and without mess. Soon after came the packaging for the product to be sold as individual kits, which are a great gift.”
Next came the retro tote bag design and a Christmas sack. “We sold almost 100 individual kits in our little suburban store with fantastic customer feedback pre-Christmas, so this was the perfect testing ground to develop the brand further,” says Shrimski.
After being unable to renew the lease on her store or find a new location, she made the decision in July this year to focus on Little Designers, and launched the brand at Life Instyle Melbourne along with a New York kit design.
“As a storeowner I loved attending Life Instyle to buy from some incredible brands…It is an absolutely inspiring set-up and an honour to be part of a show where amazing established brands are showing. It’s kind of like being a singer in the back-up band for an Adele concert.”
Along with owning a store, Shrimski has extensive retail industry experience, having worked as a cosmetics and childrenswear buyer at David Jones for 12 years before becoming the product manager at children’s accessories company Pink Poppy. Along the way she also managed to complete a Masters of Business at the University of New South Wales and have two children.
Finding the time to focus on her emerging business while running Twigs & Blossoms was a challenge, says Shrimski, and she is looking forward to dedicating more time to Little Designers.
“The most important thing is to focus on our new wholesale distribution [and] supporting our retailers during the busy Christmas gift period,” she says.
“As we grow I would love to take on some freelance artists and designers and extend our range of kits and products in 2018. We really plan and comprehensively test each product, and also need to ensure that each item will have the correct margins and a healthy ROI for the retailers who invest in our brand.”
By Ruth Cooper
