Material girls

By MDHUB Member, Kate Bendix

Rachel Walker and Kate Underdown

What do you think are women’s top pet peeves when it comes to fashion? I’ll go first – a lack of pockets on everyday clothes. And is it possible to find a gorgeous dress if you’re ample chested and don’t want to look like a bag of spuds? Asking for a friend. Well, if you can sew, pop on over to The Fold Line, find a pattern you love, choose a material to die for and get sewing.

Founded in 2015 by new MDHUB members, Rachel Walker and Kate Underdown, The Fold Line is a website for people who love sewing and making their own clothes. They supply unique sewing patterns, in paper and digital formats, made by independent designers for customers to make and tailor to fit them whatever their shape or size.

Rachel says “The Fold Line was set up to sell advertising and grow a community of makers. To help us diversify we worked with Fiona Shafer of MDHUB. It was great to have such a caring and competent person on our team. With her help and experience, we transitioned into selling patterns online made by independent designers. We are now the largest supplier of sewing patterns in the world.” Rachel and Kate come from different backgrounds but share a love of sewing and making.

Rachel started out in science, then wholesale and pattern production. Now she oversees business operations. “I like to be productive and busy, I love the challenge of sorting things out and keeping things going.”

Kate is the warp to Rachel’s weft (look it up). She’s a knitwear designer-turnedmilliner-turned-guru of the indie sewing world; the creative mind behind social media and content. The Fold Line is the epitome of Instagram with 132k followers. She is also the champion of their sewing community.

They started out to build a community of makers so when the website became a store there was a ready-made audience hungry for content. “It wasn’t part of our strategy. It just happened. The importance of the community is massive, especially on Facebook. Makers provide help and encouragement to others, often sharing video tutorials, reviewing work and giving tips.”

Thinking about it, sewing is a solitary craft. You can easily lose a weekend to a

new pattern, ensconced in your sewing room or cubby hole. The Fold Line’s Facebook community is 1,600-strong, so you’ll always find someone to assist with a bobbin issue, for example.

A customer commented “Keep doing what you do. It’s so inspiring to be part of and has made me braver in my sewing as well keeping me connected over this last year.”

Kate and Rachel have also been a force for change when it comes to inclusion and diversity. “We want to give people of all shapes and sizes what they need to make great clothes and we have requirements for our designers to make sure our patterns work for everyone.” But how have they fared through Covid and Brexit? “We had to close down in the first few weeks of the pandemic but when we finally opened the doors, sales went up because people wanted a distraction from the stress and worry. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have done so well.” The Fold Line’s annual Sewing Weekender - where makers turn up with a project to work on as a collective, sharing tips and helping each other out - nearly bit the dust but was transformed after they took it online in 2020 where it will likely remain. Last year, 2,000 makers showed up from all over the world. “It’s now far more inclusive and accessible to those who couldn’t take part before.”

Brexit hasn’t been kind. They’ve lost paper pattern sales to EU customers due to rising costs. Stock that previously took a week to arrive easily takes five and customs has its own challenges. Costs have gone up across the board.

Now that Rachel and Kate want to take The Fold Line to the next level they’ve joined MDHUB to help them get there. “We have our processes and teams in place and the next step is to go international. Being members of MDHUB means we get to work with ‘The Greats’.”

Being an MDHUB member has far exceeded their expectations. “We’re impressed by the sheer range of businesses and found the peer working groups especially beneficial. The facilitators are key to bringing the group together to make sure everyone gets what they need.”

“One big plus of membership is how reactive they are to new and ongoing world events. We get email updates, and workgroups pop up overnight. There’s a lot of support from MDHUB right now around current events and their effects. With digital patterns, there’s no limit to where we can go, we have huge potential for growth so now was the right time to join MDHUB. We love what we do. We’re able to give a maker the tools they need to create the clothes they want to wear. What can be better than that?”

❛❛ We have our processes and teams in place and the next step is to go international. Being members of MDHUB means we getto work with ‘The Greats’ ❜❜

The Foldline website is: https://thefoldline.com

MDHUB Member, Kate Bendix –Writer/Author and owner of www.wormcountsfordogs.co.uk

To find out more about how the MDHUB can help you as a Business Leader visit www.mdhub.co.uk

INFLUENCERS FORUM

Welcome to the Influencers Forum – on the subject of family-owned businesses. One advantage of a family-owned business is common values, sharing the same ethos and beliefs on how things are done. This often gives an extra sense of purpose and pride and a competitive edge for a business but unique problems can arise.

It’s important to identify a succession plan which sets out the details of who, how and if, it is to be passed onto the next generation; a plan which is financially sound for the business as well as for retiring family members.

This roundtable discussion explores challenges and opportunities around structures and long-term vision for a family business. I’d like to welcome Jo White, tax consultant at Kreston Reeves; Rebecca Blott, Director of Castle Construction; Robert Beasley, Partner at Kreston Reeves; Oliver Butts, MD of the English Soap Company; Jack Clipsham, Corporate Finance partner at Kreston Reeves; and Tamara Roberts, the CEO of Ridgeview Wine Estate.

One thing that I found enlightening was that in 2018, there were 5.1 million family-owned businesses in the UK, representing 87.6% of all private sector firms. That took me by surprise. The UK family business sector employed 14.2 million people in 2018; more than half of all employees in the private sector, and 40% of the UK total employment. I’m sure it’s not news to our panel, but it certainly was to me.

MAARTEN HOFFMANN

The Platinum Publisher

Maarten Hoffmann is the facilitator for the Platinum Influencer Forums The Platinum Media Group is the largest circulation business publishing group in the UK, reaching up to 720,000 readers each month across three titles.

www.platinummediagroup.co.uk

LESLEY ALCOCK

Commercial Director Platinum Media Group

Lesley is a marketing professional, having spent many years with Capital Radio in London and the Observer Newspaper, and was instrumental in the launch of the Observer Magazine.

T: 07767 613707 lesley@platinummediagroup.co.uk

REBECCA BLOTT

Director Castle Construction

Rebecca Blott is the owner and Director of Castle Construction; a premium construction company based in Brighton. A family-run business, Castle Construction was created by Rebecca and her husband, Scott Dowdy to deliver high-quality workmanship, coupled with industryleading customer service to domestic and commercial clients. Their range of projects include basements, extensions, garden rooms and structural alterations.

rebecca@castle-group.co.uk www.castle-construction.co.uk

ROBERT BEASLEY

Accounts and outsourcing partner Kreston Reeves

Robert has considerable experience in advising owner managed businesses at all stages of their development. He offers practical advice from creating business plans and reviewing systems to quantifying and controlling costs to improve profitability.

robert.beasley@krestonreeves.com www.krestonreeves.com

JACK CLIPSHAM

Corporate Finance Partner Kreston Reeves

Jack has more than 25 years’ experience advising SME and mid-market clients across a wide variety of sectors. He provides strategic advice to companies looking to develop both organically and by acquisition as well as advising on exit strategies.

jack.clipsham@krestonreeves.com www.krestonreeves.com

TAMARA ROBERTS

CEO Ridgeview Wine Estate

Tamara joined Ridgeview, her family’s English Sparkling Winemaking business, in 2004 and became CEO 2014. Since then, production has doubled and she has put in place a strategy to double again by 2025 alongside a £1million investment into on site hospitality and tourism. Ridgeview is dedicated to the three pillars of a sustainable business – social, economic and environmental.

www.ridgeview.co.uk

OLIVER BUTTS

MD, English Soap Co.

Oliver – Bob and Juliet’s son, joined in 2012 to work alongside his parents as Managing Director. Bob remains the Senior Director and Juliet is Company Secretary. Ailsa, Oliver’s wife, joined the company as Operations Manager in 2016.

Before Oliver joined his parents in 2012 The English Soap Company brand didn’t exist and there were three or four customers. Since then turnover has quadrupled. There are now some 220 products and 3,000 customers worldwide.

oliver@christinamay.com www.christinamay.com

JO WHITE

Private Client Tax Director Kreston Reeves

Jo’s provides both corporate and personal tax advice to business and individuals. She specialises in family investment companies, inheritance and property tax planning and editor of Kreston Reeves Pathfinder tax and wealth newsletter

jo.white@krestonreeves.com www.krestonreeves.com