I spoke to Loopy London about the effects of being a small business in lockdown, here is what the girls had to say…
How has the UK lockdown affected your business?
‘We have definitely found people have begun to realise the importance of supporting small businesses and appreciate the individuals behind the brands. It has almost been a year of planning for the summer ahead for Loopy London and then overnight everything changed.
We had planned to trade at festivals and host more Loopy Summer events after the success of last year but for obvious reasons these can’t go ahead. We just had to think of new ways to plan exciting events and collaborations with UK restrictions.’
Have there been any benefits to your business being in lockdown?
‘I would say the community of small businesses has really come together and we have loved supporting others and the support we have received has been amazing.
We have joined group chats with other small business owners which we have found is an amazing way to support each other. It’s been such a fab way to bounce off ideas and get feedback and support at a time when everything feels so uncertain.’
Has being in lockdown given you more freedom to create new designs?
‘It has allowed us to become more creative with what we have. Slowing down has actually been really beneficial as it has allowed us time to create designs with stock we already have as sourcing materials in lockdown is much harder, particularly when the delivery of materials takes longer.
Making all the orders by hand everyday takes time but has also provided us both with a routine and distraction to allow us to destress. It has been good to have a daily focus whilst confined to home! It has given us added purpose.’
Are there any disadvantages to being a small business in lockdown?
‘It has been difficult running a business and not seeing each other during the lockdown, as we normally try to meet up as often as possible to sort stock and design and plan new collections.
We’ve found Zoom and Facetime extremely useful and more important than ever. Lockdown has meant we have had to be even more organised and factor in new things which previously were not as important.
Due to the nature of the earrings, it can be very difficult to see them in photos and on Instagram posts – they are much easier to see in reality as many of the pairs are small and subtle.
Because of this, we try to have as many in-person sales as possible, and we had planned small sales at uni for the summer term to allow people to come and see the products.’
What are you most looking forward to coming out of lockdown?
‘Meeting up with each other to create and plan in one space, we regularly talk and Facetime but it’s not the same as designing together in reality. We also can’t wait to have another in-person sale. Pop-up shops are so much fun and we love meeting everyone that comes to support the brand.
This is definitely something we have missed as every sale is forced to be online. We can’t wait to get pop up sales and events going again like our one last summer.’
Find more about Loopy London and their collection here: https://loopylondon.com/