So, I’m absolutely thrilled Merrimaking (otherwise known as Meg and Harri) have agreed to talk to me about their animal hoods and forays into business that moved them from a festival seller to a cult accessories maker. They count Ellie Goulding, Selfridges buyer Geraldine James and of course animal headwear-connoisseur, me among their fans.
The first thing I learn from Meg is that she has a history of stowing a rat in her hood. And it’s from that point onwards I KNOW I’m really going to enjoy the rest of the Q&A. After all, how can you not like someone who sneaks their pet rat into university lectures?
It’s due to their cunning pet-sneaking antics that Merrimaking exists, moving from a rat transportation device to the headgear du jour. Meg could do “a better job of sneaking her into lectures if I had her hidden in my hood” and so the hoods became everyday wear.
The pair responded to positive reactions to their personal hoods during festivals, and had an idea to turn their crafty creations into a business. Because of the attention the hoods gathered, it seems only right festivals should be the launching point of the hood business. The pair took to their sewing machines and created a batch to take to Green Man festival in Wales. The inevitable sore fingers were worth it, as the hoods were a smash hit.
So, they made more and went to more festivals. It’s clear at this point that despite the duo’s light-hearted and fun direction, they are smart business women who know how to reach their target market. Sticking to festivals at the beginning not only hit the right people, but allowed Meg and Harri to sell at the right price. And of course there’s the obvious benefit of enjoying the beautiful British summer from a festival stand.
After two years they were able to give up their jobs and focus on hoodmaking as a full-time career, learning to balance friendship and business. “We joke we’re more like a married couple now, with our joint bank account, and Merrimaking feeling like our baby," Harri says. "Although sharing tax-returns and inputting countless receipts into our accounts is never fun. Ever. It’s like Scrooge at Christmas all over again”.
Evolving into a fully-functioning business definitely has perks when compared to a 9-5 job. Meg says, “When I compare my working day to that of the classic 9-5 I just feel so lucky. I pretty much get to work when I want, and where I want. If it’s sunny I’ll take my sewing machine and computer outside. Harri and I had the best tans last summer, we had a roof terrace that over-looked Brighton and we’d sit out there and sew in the sun and drink gin and tonic”.
But of course, it’s unavoidable there are drawbacks too, such as an inability to switch off and relax without constantly churning over new ideas. Or planning tax returns. And when it comes to anything artistic there are the inevitable copycats, which can be difficult to deal with for a small business. “What frustrates me is the power of money; a company can start-up after us and become better known than us because they can quickly buy press and then people perceive us to be the copycats," Meg says. "I’m even more cynical of the ‘fashion world’ press just for how easily you can buy the kind of exposure those of us without a huge marketing budget have to work really hard to earn.”
When it comes to advice for budding entrepreneurs, Meg offers the following advice: “Just start off by investing more time than money. And only do it if you really enjoy it; people will only be excited to see you do well at what you’re doing if they can see that you clearly love it. When people are excited for you, we’ve found that they’re really happy to help promote you. And from our experience word of mouth really is the best promotion you can get.”And she speaks from experience. Merrimaking attribute a large portion of their early success to the generosity of Meg’s ex-employer, who not only offered them studio space, but advice in getting a grant which enabled them to give the business a big push in the beginning.
It’s also clear innovation and moving forward are important for Meg and Harri, as they tell me about their plans to further Merrimaking. "At some point animals hoods are going to become saturated. we had a choice. Either we'd let Merrimaking fizzle out as people become less interested in the hoods, or we keep designing and making new pieces – so we now identify as a wardrobe of playful ideas." I get very excited at this point when Meg mentions their new product, animal hoodies. I start to feel the stomach-stirring and finger-tingling of a true addict, and immediately want to rush to the website and order ALL THE HOODIES. I can’t help it, it’s an ANIMAL attraction (don’t judge me on bad punning, I’m excited).
To finish, I ask the ladies about their most unusual commissions, and I’m left baffled by the answer. “Someone wanted to commission a hood that looked like James Brown!? We didn’t make that one…”
With ideas ticking in my mind, and a strong urge to BUY ALL THE HOODIES, I wrap up the interview.
You can visit the Merrimaking website, but hands off the red panda hood. It’s mine.
Louise balances her many daydreams with the reality of being an animal scientist. So by day she’s lab-coated and covered in animal bits and by night she’s a knitter, obsessive reader, cat-botherer and midnight baker. She lives in Yorkshire with a husband, bunnies and cats. She loves PJ Harvey, pastel hair and drinks cola obsessively.
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