Clippykit goes from bags to riches

It took a whole six weeks before Clippykit founder Calypso Rose realised that
the geography degree she was studying for was not for her.
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It took a whole six weeks before Clippykit founder Calypso Rose realised that the geography degree
she was studying for was not for her.  

By Jenny Hirschkorn
10:42AM GMT 06 Feb 2009

After barely more than half a term she dropped out of King's College London, leaving behind her
ambition to become a weather girl, and moved on to a course in technical theatre at drama school.
That, she says, was a great grounding for running her own business because it taught her to work
really hard. "I was doing 80-hour weeks," she recalls, which will sound familiar to other
entrepreneurs juggling the demands that their businesses place on them.
It was while she was working in television production that she decided to make a see-through bag
with pockets to display her collection of Polaroid photographs, and so the first Clippykit was born on
her kitchen table, without the slightest intention of it becoming a business in it own right. But that was
about to change, and fast.
"Everywhere I went, people would stop me in the street and ask me where I got my bag from,"
explains Ms Rose, 28, "so my parents lent me £2,000 to get 250 bags made, and I sold them all
within about three weeks.
"I just couldn't do the bags and the TV, and the bags seemed to be more profitable than television,
so I gave up my job."
Through Kelly's online directory (www.kellysearch.co.uk), she had found a good, UK-based
manufacturer, who was very helpful and gave the novice businesswoman lots of helpful tips. "This
was far better than having to rush off to China," she notes. It is also of great value in quickly
replenishing stock levels and managing cash flow.
Working from her London home, with the help of her mother Clare, she kept her overheads to a
minimum and ploughed all her profits back into the company. "That £2,000 enabled me to build a
turnover of £180,000 in my first year."
Early sales were mainly to family and friends, but around the time of the official launch Clippykit
exhibited successfully at Olympia's Spirit of Christmas Fair and had a stall for a short while in
Portobello Market. A major breakthrough came with an order from the fashionable Notting Hill
boutique Coco Ribbon, and Clippykit's website has also been a valuable sales channel.
"Currently, around 25 per cent of our sales come from our website, but we really want to push that
over the next year because we are aware of what a tough time the smaller shops are having," says
Ms Rose. Today, Clippykit's client list includes around 250 independent boutiques, as well as major
outlets like Harrods, John Lewis and Selfridges.
Pretty quickly, it became clear that the concept behind the bags was flexible and could be applied to
a range of other products like umbrellas, wallets and makeup bags. Another natural progression was
the introduction of the kits that can be used to personalise the products, and they too have been very
successful.
"We deliberately drove it forward quite fast because we were worried that someone bigger would
come along and copy the idea." The aim was very much to create a brand, rather than simply a
plastic bag.
As well as the conventional wholesale and retail markets, Clippykit has been successful as a
promotional product (it has been used as a goody bag at events such as the Brit Awards and the
Orange Prize), and there is currently a major project underway with schools, about which Ms Rose is
very excited. "We recently organised a competition, in conjunction with the enterprise organisation
Make Your Mark, called Pocket the Problem, in which we had 650 girls across London personalising
a Clippykit bag with an issue that was relevant to them."
The entries were of such a high standard that they were exhibited at City Hall, and Ms Rose is
looking for sponsors to enable the roll-out of the competition across the country later this year.
"Working in different markets helps weather the storm in these turbulent times," reflects Ms Rose.
Since their launch in 2004, Clippykits have become a favourite among celebrities, with Helena
Bonham Carter spotted clutching her bag at Country Living Fair and Thandie Newton using one to
gather keepsakes for her daughter.
For the moment, Ms Rose is happy expanding her product range and increasing sales, but she
makes no secret of her ultimate aim. "In the long term, it would be great to have a life-style brand
and then sell the company, I guess."
Recession toolkit
•Optimism. Stay positive and have faith in your product
•Vary your markets. Think about how your product could fit into different markets, Clippykit works for
retail, the promotions industry and education
•Optimise your website. Keep driving customers to your website using PR and marketing and make
your site 'sticky'. It's your portal to world markets.
Dos and Don'ts
Do - Keep costs to a minimum. If you can work from home and do your own PR in the beginning this
will give you the cash to develop your product
Don't - Expect it to be a short-cut to prosperity. Profit made equals business development not
personal wages.
Factfile:
Name: Calypso Rose
Company: Clippykit
Founded: 2004
Start-up funds: £2,000
Staff: 2 and 1 part-timer
Turnover: £500,000
www.clippykit.co.uk

Questions

Questions
How did Calypso raise the working capital to finance the purchase of her initial stocks?

"I was doing 80-hour weeks". Outline three reasons why start-up entrepreneurs often work
incredibly long hours.

Explain why the choice of a UK-based manufacturer provided benefits to the business

Evaluate the distribution channels that Clippykit has used to grow its sales

Megan Duckett
 2011 Revenue: $6.2 million
  Hobby: Sewing
 Businesses: Sew What? & Rent What?

When Megan Duckett moved to Los Angeles from Australia 21 years ago, she was 19
years old and had big dreams of working in the entertainment industry. She took a job
with an event planner and in her free time began sewing at her kitchen table, making
bedding, drapes and costumes.

When the request to make the linings inside 10 decorative coffins for her employer’s
Halloween event came up, Duckett took on the challenge.

“That was one of the turning point moments when I began to realise I have a
skill set that other people didn’t have,” she says.

Duckett also knew that positioning herself as a specialist in designing props and
entertainment décor would set her apart. Her next big project, designing 25 silk
chandeliers for The Mirage in Las Vegas, came a year later.

By 1996, Duckett was earning more money sewing than the $45,000 salary from her
full-time job at the event-planning company. She quit and rented an 800-square-foot
warehouse, hired three seamstresses and generated $80,000 in revenue her first year.

In 2006, she began producing bags and other items bearing the company logo to make
the Sew What? brand more recognisable. “[I realised] that people weren’t buying me;
they wanted to buy a brand,” she says. Four years ago, Duckett branched out by
offering the option to rent drapes and other props rather than purchase them and by
2011 her Los Angeles-based company, produced sales of $5 million in addition to the
$1.2 million her second business Rent What? generated. Today she manages 44
employees across both businesses.

Sep 21, 2012